Slow Transitions
by Crazy-Chemist1
Summary: Dragons and Vikings may not be fighting anymore, but it takes more than a few days for old enemies to become friends. A slower take on the end of the movie.
1. Choosing an Axe

**PREFACE:**

**I saw How to Train you Dragon recently, and was surprised by just how much I enjoyed it. For some reason it really got my creative juices flowing. Which happens rarely enough these days that I decided to take advantage of it and write this story! It's been a very long time since I've written anything of note, so I'm afraid I'm a bit rusty.**

**In any case, this story takes place in a slightly different setting. I though the end of the movie was a bit too trite. Hiccup couldn't have been out for more than a few days, and yet suddenly dragons and Vikings are getting along as if they hadn't been fighting what amounted to a centuries long war? That seems a bit too convenient to me.**

**So try to picture an ending where Hiccup awakens to find that the people of Berk are living alongside the dragons, but are still quite leery of their new neighbors. After all, trust takes time to build.**

**And with that, on to the story.**

* * *

**SLOW TRANSITIONS**

* * *

Astrid sighed and stared at the mostly blue scaled Deadly Nadder standing in front of her. It stared right back at her, head tilted to one side so that it could focus its large yellow eye on her. She was finding it surprisingly difficult to just stand there. Or perhaps it wasn't THAT surprising. People don't change overnight. Nor do civilizations. And seven generations of Viking history, a lifetime of stories and watching battles from the sidelines, and several weeks of practical training were all SCREAMING at her to step to the side. Step into the Nadder's blind spot and grab her axe and…

Astrid sighed again and forced herself to relaxe and unclench her hands. She was feeling nervous and uncomfortable and she would feel MUCH better with her axe in her hands. But the Nadder was nervous enough around her when she was unarmed. If she approached it with even a butter-knife, she suspected the dragon would bolt. Mind you, Viking butter-knives could be quite intimidating…

And so the two stood facing each other, each one nervous and trying not to show it. And generally failing miserably. The Nadder kept swishing its head from side to side, checking her out with one eye, then the other, as if to make sure BOTH eyes agreed that she wasn't about to attack. Every time the large beaked head swung back and forth Astrid twitched and had to resist the urge to stay in its blind spot, her fists clenching. And her body language was only making the dragon even more nervous...

Another sigh escaped Astrid's mouth. "How on earth does Hiccup do this?" The dragon responded to her voice by jinxing its head yet again and hopping back a bit before making a curious growling sound.

Rubbing her face with her hands, Astrid tried to decide what to do. The dragon was clearly somewhat scared of her. Which was fair enough since she was... not SCARED of it. Merely... wary. It was the same Deadly Nadder from dragon training. The same Deadly Nadder that she and Hiccup rode to save the Viking assault force from the enormous Red Death. The same Deadly Nadder that had dropped her in that battle. But under the circumstances she couldn't really blame the dragon for that. And she had thought it would be easiest to get along with the dragon having met it before and ridden it. It had seemed so easy at the time.

But she was beginning to suspect that it was so easy because Hiccup was there. He just seemed to have a way with the creatures. That, and the heat of the moment pushed a lot of old, ingrained fears and instincts out of her head for that desperate battle. But paradoxically, now that things were calmer, they were also more difficult. Dragons and Vikings were no longer fighting. But for the moment they were doing little more than... Coexisting. Nervously. Both sides were more than a little skittish around each other for obvious reasons. Trying to bridge the gap between 'not killing each other' and 'working together' was proving stressful. At least to Astrid.

"I wonder if it's really worth it." She muttered to herself under her breath. She didn't have to wait long for an answer.

The whistling sound immediately pulled her eyes to the sky as the back of her mind howled 'Night Fury! Danger!' at her. An instant later her conscious mind followed up with a name: Toothless. It was a distinctive sound that instinctively drew the attention of the people of Berk, who were only slowly getting used to that sound heralding something OTHER than fiery destruction.

In this case, it heralded long loud laughter and whoops of joy as a black blur with a red tailfin dove out of the sky, blazed past the village at rooftop level, then shot back upwards, almost seeming to hover for a moment before ascending back into the clouds with a flap of wings.

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!" Hiccup's voice overlapped with the low rumbling laugher of Toothless, both sounds ringing with unbridled joy and enthusiasm as Viking and dragon worked together in harmony, playing tag with the clouds.

Every eye in the village was on the sky as the pair disappeared into the clouds once again. Every eye, both human and dragon. A smile split Astrid's lips as both she and the Nadder lowered their heads to look at each other in tandem. Slowly, nervously, Astrid raised her hand up to reach towards the dragon. And, after a moment's hesitation, the Nadder turned its head again, leaving Astrid in it's blind spot before slowly pressing it's beak forward against her hand. Just for a moment. Then it hopped backwards and, with one leap with its powerful legs, leapt onto the roof of her house, looking down at her nervously again... but perhaps not quite as nervously as before.

Slowly lowering her hand, the young Viking looked up at the dragon. "Maybe it IS worth it." She said aloud this time. And maybe it was time to speak to Hiccup and ask for a bit of advice.

Yes. Advice. That was what she would go to see him for. No other reason.

Really!

* * *

Astrid took her time walking towards Hiccup's home. She was in no hurry. And she didn't even know if the young Viking hero would even be home. He hadn't been at the forge with Gobber when she passed it, which meant he was likely either home, or still riding Toothless. Despite his newfound celebrity, first as a dragon slayer trainee, now as a dragon trainer, Hiccup was rarely seen mingling in town or enjoying the perks of his heroic status. Which Astrid didn't quite understand. Even SHE knew that all Hiccup had ever wanted was some recognition. Now that he had that and more, he seemed disinterested in it. Of course, that could be because he was preoccupied with a certain 'useless reptile.'

In any case, Astrid was just reaching the top of the hill where the village chief's house rested when a black shadow passed overhead. She was rather proud of herself when she barely cringed at the sound of flapping wings above her. She looked up just in time to see Toothless dive towards the ground to the side of the house, landing gently and gracefully.

Neither dragon nor rider seem to have noticed her as they came in for their landing, so Astrid quietly strolled in closer, but remained silent, coming up behind them. It's wasn't that she was trying to eavesdrop or anything. She just wanted to watch Hiccup. Toothless. She wanted to watch Toothless. And Hiccup. And see how they interacted. That was all.

She was just… researching. Yes, that was it. Researching.

* * *

Hiccup sighed and patted Toothless' neck as they landed.

"Sorry buddy, I think that's all the flying I can manage today." He grimaced a bit as he unclamped his prosthetic foot from the dragon's harness.

Flying was a lot easier on his leg than walking; the two actions used different muscles, and caused his metal limb to rub against his remaining flesh in different ways. So while riding Toothless wasn't as painful as walking, and could even be a relief from standing on the chunk of metal and wood… he still couldn't manage handling it for hours on end like he used to.

Toothless just nodded his head, looking back at his rider, big green eyes filled with concern. As Hiccup slid off his friend, he couldn't help but cringe in pain and let out a little yelp as his prosthetic foot touched the ground. Toothless instantly extended a wing to help keep his partner balanced, and Hiccup accepted the help gratefully, using his hands and his good leg to lower himself into a sitting position, his back against the dragon's scales.

"Thanks buddy. I think I'll just take a load off for a few minutes before we get you some lunch, if it's all the same to you." Hiccup patted Toothless' neck and grinned. Grinning was better than grimacing in pain.

Toothless just snorted and rolled his eyes, giving Hiccup a narrow eyed reproachful look that quite clearly conveyed opinion of the matter. It seemed to say '_Don't be stupid. Your leg is more important to me than lunch any day._' After making sure his friend knew where he stood on meal time, the dragon butted his head against the young Viking's side a few times, before nosing down to his missing limb and letting out a mournful whimper.

"Don't worry about it Toothless." Hiccup admonished his friend gently, scratching his scaly neck. "It wasn't your fault. You saved my life. Anyway, I'll get used to it in no time, I'm sure. Then we can go flying all day if you like."

Toothless just turned his head to look at Hiccup, giving a small snort and staring at him with big, sorrowful eyes, ear fins drooping sadly.

And then his ears abruptly shot back upright. A moment later he snapped his head around, growling lowly and menacingly behind them, a wing shooting out to cover Hiccup. And just as suddenly the growling ended as he recognized who was sneaking up behind them. Lowering his head, he gave a short bark in greeting.

"Hello Toothless. Hello Hiccup."

Hiccup sputtered a bit, pushing Toothless' wing out of his way as he tried to turn and see what caused his friend to jump. Hearing a familiar voice, he jumped himself, literally leaping to his feet. Or foot, rather. He shuddered for a moment in pain, biting back a yelp as he suddenly put far too much weight on his stump. After taking a second to collect himself and return his smile to his face, he turned around to face the golden haired Viking girl, trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

"Astrid! Hi Astrid!"

* * *

Astrid winced internally when Hiccup leapt to his feet at the sound of her voice. She hadn't been SPYING or anything really. She just hadn't made herself known at first. And she'd seen enough to know that Hiccup's leg was obviously paining him. A lot. She cringed at the thought that her presence was causing the young man more pain. On the other hand, a part of her warmed at the fact that he reacted so strongly to her arrival.

Then he turned around to face her. And surely his leg couldn't be hurting him that badly, considering the big smile he had on his face. The smile drew her attention, drawing her eyes upwards to his. She couldn't help but stare into them for a moment or two, a light flush appearing on her cheeks as he greeted her enthusiastically, thoughts of his leg flying out of her mind.

"Astrid! Are you okay?"

The concern in his voice brought her back to the real world, and she flushed a bit more as she realized she'd lost focus for a few moments there. Now two sets of green eyes were staring at her with curososity and concern, one set human, the other dragon.

"Ah, it's nothing, I'm fine." She waved her hand dismissively.

"Ah, okay. S… Soooo.. What can I do for you Astrid?"

Astrid smiled a bit at Hiccup's obvious nervousness. Toothless stood behind him, seeming amused as Hiccup rubbed the back of his head with his hand, looking flustered.

"Well… I was hoping you could give me some tips on dragon training."

Hiccup brightened up immediately. Here was something he could do right!

"Sure Astrid! Sure! Ah, just give me a second to get Toothless here his lunch!" He stood up straight and tall, or as straight and tall as a he could, and started walking around the house. "I'll be back in a second!"

Astrid watched him walk back around the house, his prosthetic foot tapping against the ground confidently with each step. It had only been a few days since he woke from his injuries, but he seemed to be adapting fine to his new appendage. Still, she was sure she'd seen him in pain before. And it didn't escape her notice the way Toothless followed right behind him, growling lowly and worriedly at each step his partner took, always ready to lend a claw or a wing.

* * *

"Soooo.. What did you want to know, exactly?"

Hiccup did his best to hide his sigh of relief as he sat down on the bench beside Astrid. It hadn't taken him long to hobble around the back of the house and get Toothless his lunch. And hobble he did, once he was out of sight of Astrid. He was scrawny. He was clumsy. He was weak. There was no way he'd let anyone see him looking so… crippled. ESPECIALLY Astrid. He was a pitiful enough excuse for a Viking as it was. Falling flat on his face would just lower people's opinions of him. If that were even possible.

"Well, I'm trying to tame the Deadly Nadder we rode to the dragons nest. But…" Astrid faltered. She didn't like admitting failure, or asking for help. Like all Vikings, she hated showing weakness.

_'Well, like MOST Vikings.'_ She stared at Hiccup for a moment. He had no problems showing weakness. Well, in truth it was more like he had no hope of hiding his. But still, he never stopped trying. Or hesitated to ask questions. Even stupid ones. Even when people rarely had an answer to give the odd, scrawny boy.

Hiccup just smiled at her, waiting for her to continue. Surely HE of all people wouldn't look down on her for asking questions. And somehow admitting a little weakness to the boy in front of her didn't weigh at her quite so heavily as doing so in front of just about anyone else she could think of.

"But… I'm not doing very well at it. I can't even seem to get that close to her, let alone ride her. And I'm just not sure what I'm doing wrong." Astrid allowed her head to droop a little, glancing down at the rough-hewn table in embarrassment.

"Well, okay." Hiccup rubbed his chin, a bit surprised at how down Astrid seemed over her failure. _'Not a failure. Not Astrid. She never fails at anything.'_ He thought to himself. _'It's just a minor setback for a girl like her.' _

"You leave you axe at home when you talk to her, right?"

Astrid nodded, giving him a look that seemed to shout 'Duh!' Hiccup raised his hands defensively warding off her glare with a grin.

"Well.. why don't you tell me exactly what does happen?"

Astrid nodded and after a moment's thought began.

"Well, usually she hangs out on the roof of the house. Mom isn't too thrilled with that, let me tell you." She rolled her eyes, blowing an errant piece of hair out of her face. "She comes down when I put food out for her. Or when I call to her. Sometimes. But then… We just end up staring at each other. And she hops back when I get too close. She… she let me touch her beak today after… Well, it doesn't matter. It's just frustrating. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or how I'm supposed to train her when I can't even get close to her…" she sighed and looked hopefully at Hiccup for guidance.

Hiccup rubbed his chin for a few moments, thinking.

"I guess you haven't named her yet then, huh?" H asked with surprising seriousness.

"I… Well, no. I don't know what to call her. I mean, I'm not sure she'll even let me ride her again and if she'll stay around. I don't know enough about her to name her."

"Well, I think all of those things are problems. But mostly it sounds to me like you two don't trust each other."

Hiccup stared at her, an unusually serious look remaining on his face. In the dimly lit house sunlight from a window behind the young Viking seemed to surround him with a glowing aura, and Astrid felt her chest grow tight at the image.

"I trust her! I suppose. Mostly. I mean, I want to trust her. It's just… She's… I don't…." she found herself unable to express her feelings properly and sighed. "How do you and Toothless do it?" she mumbled.

Hiccup took a few moments to consider the question before opening his mouth.

"I… I guess it was different for us. When I found Toothless… I could have killed him. Should have really. But I just… couldn't do it. He was helpless and I was supposed to be a Viking and… I just couldn't. So I cut him free instead." He paused again, glancing at the back wall of the house.

He knew Toothless was on the other side of that wall, likely close to finishing his lunch. When he was finished, he might bound into the room filled with energy and excitement. Or he might decide to wait outside the door and relax while guarding it from anyone with ill intent. Either way, he'd be trying to protect Hiccup, both from outside forces and from his own clumsiness and over-exuberance. That's just the way the dragon was.

"When I cut him free, he jumped at me. Pinned me down. He could have killed me easily. But…." Now Hiccup's voice took on a slightly awed tone. "But he didn't. He probably should have… But he let me go and ran off instead." The young man shrugged.

"After that… Well, it was still scary the next time I met him. But we had both had a chance to kill the other. And neither of us took it. It took some doing before he trusted me enough to let me touch him. Let alone ride him. But I suppose that's where it started."

"And now?" Astrid asked, her voice unusually low and quiet, staring at Hiccup with a bit of wonder.

"Now?" Hiccup turned back to face her, smiling. "Saying I trust him with my life is a bit stupid I guess. I do that every time we go flying. And I know he trusts me just as much. I don't really have anything valuable besides my life. But if I did, I'd trust him with it." He glanced at the back wall again as if he could see his friend through the wooden planks. "I'd trust him with everything I have, or could ever have."

Astrid let out a small sigh. "I don't know. I don't know if I can ever really manage that. Or ever manage to train my Nadder as well as Toothless." She shook her head.

Hiccup gave her an odd, considering look.

"You know, I think maybe dragon training is the wrong thing to call it. I mean, I never TRAINED Toothless to do anything. Or if I did, HE was training me at the same time." He paused. "I think that's another important thing. Toothless… He's not my pet dragon Astrid. Not really. He's his own dragon. He doesn't… Belong to me. At least not like a sheep or a bird." He gestured with his hands as if trying to physically find the shape of the words he wanted to use while Astrid watched on, enthralled by the growing passion in his voice.

This was a side of Hiccup she'd only seen hinted at before. When he insisted they hold off telling his father about the dragon's nest in order to protect Toothless was one such time. Another was when he faced down the Monstrous Nightmare in the ring, throwing his sword and shield aside. It was as if he held a raging river deep inside his soul, hidden by his placid surface with nary a ripple showing through. But on rare occasions that strength would come bubbling up for all to see... She focused on his words, as he continued speaking.

"Toothless is mine, but only as much as I'm his. He's a person Astrid. One who just happens to be a dragon too. He's… He's my friend. My best friend. My only friend." Hiccup blinked a bit as that last bit came out, hurrying on and trying to ignore his slip. "I think we get along so well because I know he's a person just like me. Only different. He's smart. And not smart like a dog that can learn tricks. Smart in the same way you and I are." His eyes grew a bit distant, as if looking at something far away. Or perhaps deep inside himself.

"He can't say words, but he can talk to you all the same, if you listen right. Some of the stuff he does is weird, or crazy, but I guess maybe that's why we get along so well." He laughed a bit and smiled at the thought. "Maybe that's why we get along. We're both alike." He paused again, scratching his head thoughtfully.

"No, that's not right. It's not that we're alike. It's more like we're both the same. Not that we look the same or anything. I mean we're the same in that we're both people. I guess I just never think of Toothless as being less than me. We're the same. Just… different. If that makes any sense."

Hiccup seemed to run out of words, hands ceasing their gesturing. Looking over at Astrid's face, he saw her shock, and misinterpreted its cause. With a groan he settled his head onto his arms atop the table.

"Ugh… and that must have sounded incredibly stupid."

He kept his head down for a few moments, embarrassed by his rambling speech, before feeling the surprising warmth of another hand atop one of his. Lifting his gaze, he found Astrid smiling at him warmly.

"I think that was anything but stupid, Hiccup. I think everyone in the village could do with hearing you tell them that." She said softly, her hand still atop one of his.

Hiccup of course went pale, or rather, MORE pale, at the thought of standing in front of all of Berk repeating his impromptu speech. The thought must have been written all over his face, because Astrid suddenly began to laugh. Lowly at first, but slowly growing louder.

Hiccup just stared at her smiling, laughing face for a moment, unable to think of anything but how beautiful her laugh sounded. Almost as beautiful as she looked, the light reflecting off her golden hair. The embarrassment he'd normally feel at being laughed at evaporated before the sound of her voice. After a few moments he joined in himself with a nervous chuckle. But he soon found Astrid's mirth contagious.

Toothless choose that moment to push open the door with his snout and look upon the two laughing teens, one ear poking up and a confused, curious look on his face. For some reason that just set the two of them off again, and both Vikings roared louder with laughter, Hiccup pointing at his friend, unable to actually say anything in between laughs.

Toothless stared at them in confusion, both ears lifting up. After another few seconds of laughter, he snorted and rolled his eyes, stalking past the two and curling up on the floor in the center of the room. He had no idea what they were laughing at, but the expression on his face clearly said _'Humans are crazy'_ before he covered himself with his wing, ignoring the two.

The laughter died down eventually, and the two Vikings stared at each other, smiling. Then Astrid finally lifted her hand up off of Hiccup's and punched his shoulder, lightly, as she began to stand up.

"Ouch!" Hiccup made a great show of rubbing his 'bruised' arm. "What was that for?"

"That was for saying you don't have any other friends." She said seriously. Hiccup cringed a bit at that, not having meant to let that slip.

He didn't cringe at what happened next of course. As he half expected Astrid leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on his lips.

"And that's for…" She began, but Hiccup surprised her by cutting her off.

"Everything else?" he finished for her with a grin. And Astrid grinned right back.

"Smart boy! Maybe dragon can't be trained, but there might be home for YOU." She surprised him by reaching out to tousled his red hair a bit, glancing over at Toothless, who's head was perked up, watching the proceedings with clear amusement.

"Though I'm sure Toothless and I will both have our work cut out for us training you." Toothless nodded his head up and down vigorously, making that low rumbling laugh of his as Astrid winked at him before heading for the door.

"Traitor." Was all Hiccup said in response, eyeing the black scaled lump while he struggled to keep his cheeks from becoming any redder.

Astrid paused in the doorway, looking back at the one legged Viking.

"But seriously Hiccup…. Thanks for the advice." She smiled once more, light from outside seeming to halo her… and then she was gone.

Leaving behind a besotted looking Hiccup, who just stared at the closed door. His hand drifted from his lips to his head where Astrid had kissed him and touched him. He would almost swear he could feel some residual warmth there.

Eventually Toothless wandered over to his partner and plopped his head on his lap, glancing up at him and making a curious churing sound.

"No buddy, I don't understand girls either." He mumbled, absently scratching the night fury's neck.

Toothless just rolled his eyes again. _'Humans are DEFINITELY crazy.'_ He seemed to say. Then he closed his eyes and purred happily at the attention he was receiving.

At least HIS human knew just where he liked to be scratched.

* * *

Astrid stalked purposely towards the back of her house, her axe in hand. It didn't take long for her Deadly Nadder to notice her. And to leap back, making a hissing sound, darting it's head back and forth rapidly, Eyes shifting back and forth between her and the double edged weapon in her hands.

Astir ignored the dragon, instead choosing to stare down at her battle axe as she spoke.

"I've always carried an axe. Ever since I was a little girl. My grandmother was known for her skill with an axe, and I wanted to be the same way. I always feel better with an axe in my hands. Like I can take on anything."

She paused for a moment before suddenly lifting her axe high over her head. She could hear the Nadder's frightened, angry hiss, but she ignored it. Instead she brought her axe down with all of her considerable strength on a large wooden log. With a loud THUNK the double bladed weapon bit surprisingly deep into the wood, burying a full half of its rounded head into the log.

Pulling it out again would not be trivial. At least not for Astrid.

The Deadly Nadder stopped hissing, tilting its head at her curiously as the young Viking finally looked up at her.

"I like always having an axe at my side. But…" she took a deep breath. "If I have to choose between an axe and you… I guess… I guess I'd choose you."

The dragon made another curious growling sound, staring at her with one large yellow eye, unmoving.

"Look, the two of us have problems. I know we tried to kill each other in training. You tried to roast me, and I tried to stab you. I know you probably only let me ride you last time because Hiccup was there. I know he doesn't look like much, but somehow when you're around him for a while, there's… something about him that makes you want to trust him." She blushed a bit at her words, but pushed on.

"The point is, in spite of that, I think.. I think we did okay together that time. I know you're scared of me. And I'm…" She swallowed a bit, not wanting to say it aloud. Vikings didn't admit to things like fear. But Vikings also pushed straight forward through obstacles.

"And I'm a bit scared of you." She admitted, lowering her eyes. But she quickly raised them back up, giving the dragon a steely gaze. "But by Odin, I want this to work. So I'll promise to try not to hurt you, if you'll do the same." She glanced around, quickly spotting the basket she had placed outside earlier. She stalked over to it, she pulled out a fish and began walking towards the dragon again, holding it out in front of her.

"So. Deal?" She asked the surprisingly silent and still dragon, suddenly a bit hesitant.

The Nadder remained silent for another few seconds before finally tilting its head, slowly, to stare at her with each eye. Then, equally slowly, it turned its head again. This time leaving her in its blind spot before it began leaning forward. Eventually its beak gently bumped the fish in Astrid's hands. And with great care it opened its mouth and captured the fish.

Then it quickly pulled back, turning its head to focus an eye on her before tossing the fish in the air and snapping it up. It continued to stare at her for what seemed like an eternity before pushing its head forward to rub her side, making a pleasant growling sound.

Astrid closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, then began to carefully scratch the dragon's scales around its head the way she'd seen Hiccup do to Toothless. The Nadder bumped its head against her side happily at the attention, its rumbling growl of happiness growing as it half closed its eyes.

"Well now that we're past that, I guess I have to think of name for you."

The Deadly Nadder opened it's eyes fully again, taking a quick step back to stare at her for a moment, then hopped over to where she's buried her axe in a log. It glanced at her, then down at the axe.

"That's my axe. What about it?"

At the Vikings confused look, the dragon poked the axe handle with a claw, then made another chirping sound.

"Are you saying you want to be called Axe?"

The dragon nodded and hopped back over to her, butting her lightly with its head and Astrid couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, I always said I liked to keep my Axe close by…." She laughed as she rubbed the head of HER dragon, trying to find out where she most liked to be scratched.

She had a lot to learn about her new pet…

No, THEY had a lot to learn about each OTHER. She and her new FRIEND.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

**And that's the end of that. A bit of a slower transition from enemies to friends. I think perhaps my writing ended up a bit too wordy with too little dialogue. But on the other hand, there were long stretches of the movie where not many words are exchanged.**

**In any case, I might end up continuing this with a bit more activity between Hiccup and Astrid. I have a few ideas, but the tone is a bit different. I'm not sure if I can work my other idea together with this one without making some of the characters act oddly or seem schizophrenic compared to this first part. I'll have to see what I can do, and if I run out of steam or not.**

**In any case, I hope you've enjoyed what's written thus far!**


	2. Worst Viking in the History of Berk

**I considered posting this chapter under a separate title as a sequel, since the tone is slightly different. But eventually I decided to continue it here, even if it has a bit more angst.**

**After all, it can be a slow transition going from being a runt to a hero as well.**

**

* * *

**

Astrid hurried down the dirt road that led to the blacksmith. The sun was already low on the horizon, almost touching the white capped waves of the ocean. The brilliant red and yellow hues of sunset told her she was late. Very late. But she'd been so preoccupied flying Axe over the island… Flying atop her dragon was too exhilarating for words. Or for timekeeping it would seem.

And even when the flying was over, she had to take care of her Deadly Nadder. Admittedly, half the time she spent taking care of the beast was pure pampering. But she thought the dragon deserved it. She'd been spending almost all her free time with her lately, and every day she learned something new about her companion. It certainly made each day new and exciting!

And it also made her late getting to the smithy to pick up some new bits of tack for Axe.

Everyone who'd managed to bond with a dragon was looking to have a proper saddle made. Most were making due with cobbled together junk not much better than the ropes Hiccup had jury rigged for all of them that first flight. But the ropes were wearing thin and seemed to be chaffing Axe's scales. It was past time for a better made and more permanent solution.

Hiccup himself had been by a few days ago to take Axe's measurements for a saddle. They hadn't had much time to talk though. Astrid had been busy hauling some fish for her dragon, and Hiccup hadn't been able to stay long in any case, though he had offered her a shy smile. Which she had returned a bit shyly herself of course.

Hiccup was the only one with any experience making equipment for dragons as well as training them, so it was no real surprise he was busy. But these days he was becoming a hard man to find. Whatever time wasn't spent in the smithy or giving lessons to small groups of Vikings was spent riding Toothless off to who-knows-where.

Astrid was a bit torn about it personally. She wouldn't have minded a bit more time around Hiccup herself. But how could she blame Hiccup for spending every spare moment he could with Toothless, when she was doing the same with Axe? Astrid had always been a very focused girl, and at the moment she was VERY focused on working things out between herself and her companion. Which meant spending a great deal of time with her dragon.

Astrid slowed her steps as she neared the blacksmiths, noticing a familiar pile of black scales, wings, and claws next to the doorway. Toothless raised his head as she approached, locking his bright green eyes on her for a moment before his ears flickered at her in recognition. He made a low grumbling sound at her as she approached, relaxing once again as the blonde girl drew near.

"Hey there Toothless." She smiled at the dragon as she headed for the door, sliding a hand over his smooth scales. If Toothless was here, Hiccup must still be in the shop. These days you never found one without finding the other.

Astrid was just reaching her hand out for the door when it abruptly slammed open in front of her. Only her quick reflexes saved her from being walloped by the wooden slab, and she found herself stumbling backwards as a figure marched through the doorframe. Silhouetted by the light of the forge, Gober the Belch cut an imposing figure regardless of his missing limbs.

At the moment however it wasn't his missing limbs that concerned Astrid, but his missing attention. Gober wasn't even looking where he was going, his head turned back to shout into the smithy while he used his right hand to snap a dull metal hook into place on the stump of his left arm.

"That's enough for me Hiccup! I'm off! And you should be too! Damp down the forge and GO HOME!" He shouted. A muted 'yeah, yeah!' was barely audible over the man's snort as he pulled the door closed behind him, finally turning to face forward. Only to find himself face to face (well, more like chest to face given the difference in height) with the blonde girl who was still in the process of backing away to avoid a collision.

"Whoa! Well, hello there Astrid! What brings you here at this hour?" With a grunt and a click, Gober succeeded in getting his hook seated, giving his arm a shake to make sure it was well attached. Toothless, who had been watching Astrid leap back and practically windmill her arms to keep her balance, let out a small snort of amusement.

"And what're YOU laughing at you mangy pile of scales?" Gober demanded, turning to face the night fury. "Think it's funny do ya, hanging around in front of my shop, scaring away half my customers?" Toothless just rolled his eyes, plopping his head back down on his body and ignoring the bulky Viking's rant. The dragon didn't seem to take any offence at Gober's blustering, likely because there was an obvious lack of passion behind his words.

"On the other hand, we've been so busy as is I suppose it'd be a favor if you were keeping half our customers away." He continued a bit more calmly, scratching his chin with his hook. "Eh, I guess we'll just call it a wash." Toothless just snorted and acted like he was going back to sleep while Gober turned back to face Astrid once more.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes! So what're you doing here, lass?"

Astrid cleared her throat, having regained her poise and balance while Gober was berating Toothless. She gave the older Viking a smile as she responded.

"Well, I know it's a bit late but I was hoping to pick up some of the tack I was having made for Axe. I meant to come by earlier, but lost track of time…"

Gober eyed her for a moment, one hand rubbing his chin, a gleam in his eye.

"Well, normally I don't let anyone into the smithy this late. But Hiccup's still working. And I get the feeling he won't mind me letting YOU slip in, just this once." He gave Astrid a knowing grin, causing the teenager to blush despite herself.

_'I'm blushing an awful lot lately'_ Astrid thought to herself. _'And it's always Hiccups fault.'_ A small mischievous grin crossed her face. _'I'll just have to think up a reason to punch him for making me blush so much.'_ Of course, she'd have to kiss him after the punch. It was practically tradition. And no one could blame her for not wanting to break tradition. The kiss was a sacrifice she'd just have to make.

"In return, you can help me by kicking my scrawny apprentice out of the building when you're done." He sighed heavily. "I swear, I can't understand that boy. He's been acting squirrelly lately." He made a circular motion at his head with his hook. "Well, more so than usual. Spends all day on that silly beast or in the forge, hiding away from the town."

"Well, at least this hero business isn't going to his head!" Gober finished with an upbeat tone. "Maybe YOU can knock some sense into the boy. Just make sure he shuts down for the night. And don't stay out TOO late." He gave the embarrassed Astrid a wink before turning on his peg leg and clanking off into the night.

Astrid watched him walk away for a few moments before adjusting her hair and clothes a bit. She stopped as soon as she realized what she was doing, shooting Toothless a dark look when he started to snicker again.

"Oh shush you overgrown salamander." She huffed as she reached for the door a second time. But once again she was interrupted, this time by Toothless, who stopped her by standing up and moving to block the door. Astrid gave the dragon a puzzled look, but Toothless just grinned back at her and shook his head before turning himself towards the door.

He immediately started bumping his head against it to open it, making plenty of noise as he nudged the door open. Then he let out a low growling sound and took a few steps in place before turning back to Astrid and stepping aside, sitting on his haunches beside the door with a reptilian smirk on his face.

Astrid gave the Night Fury a strange look, puzzled by his behavior. But after a moment she just shrugged and stepped through the door. Just in time to hear a distracted voice call out from somewhere in the back of the shop in response to the noise the dragon had been making.

"Toothless! How many times do I have to tell you to just wait outside?" There was a sound of clanking and banging as items were moved around. "I know you like to be close, but the forge isn't big enough for both of us. And I'm not as fireproof as you are! I don't want to have to re-grow my eyebrows! Again!"

Realizing what the sneaky dragon had been playing at, Astrid smiled and remained silent during Hiccup's minor diatribe and stealthily walked into the back of the smithy where the young metalworker was fussing over his work. His back was to the doorway so she took a few moments to watch as he stumbled around the room, piling unseen items into his arms. She couldn't help but notice how heavily he seemed to be favoring his good leg as he went about his business. After a few seconds she decided to cut the oblivious boy a break, and clear her throat.

"Huh? Toothless?" He blinked as he turned and caught sight of her, his arms full of lengths of wood and metal. "Astrid??" He gaped at her.

"So, I'm toothless now, am I?" She asked with just a hint of menace. "An old toothless crone?"

"What? Astrid? No, no Astrid! You're not toothless! Toothless is toothless! Except when he has teeth! You have teeth! Beautiful teeth! I mean…!" He cut himself off with a yowl of pain as a metal rod slipped from his hands, landing on his flesh and blood foot. Which, of course, caused him to jump and drop the REST of the items in his hands in a cascade. When the clanging and thumping of wood and metal ended, Hiccup was left standing there, arms out, a defeated look on his face.

Astrid raised a hand to her mouth to keep herself from giggling at the sight. She HATED it when she giggled. Laughter was fine. But giggling? It just wasn't… properly Viking-ish. Still, he looked so cute standing there in his leather metalworking apron with a puzzled, dejected look on his face. Like a lost puppy. She started to reconsider punching him this evening. Though that didn't rule out the follow up, did it?

The look on his face only lasted until he heard a rumbling chuckle from outside however. Looking past Astrid's shoulder, Hiccup caught a good look at Toothless, who was leaning over to look through the doorway. He was keeping to the letter of the law of course, and staying outside the building. But that didn't stop him from causing mischief.

"This is all your fault, isn't it?" Hiccup narrowed his eyes at his scaly friend. The dragon just smirked right back at him.

"Hmph. Fine. Have your fun." He crossed his arms, then pretended to consider something. "You know… I was just thinking.. Maybe dad would like to make some nice smoked eel for dinner tonight…."

Toothless' ears dropped to the back of his neck as his eyes opened wide. He let out a yowl of terror and shot out of the doorway, disappearing from sight while Hiccup snickered.

"Yeah, I feel the same way about Dad's cooking…" Astrid couldn't help it. She giggled. She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep anymore of the completely un-Viking sounds from escaping, but it was enough to regain Hiccup's full attention.

"So, ah, Astrid!" It was kind of funny the way he'd say her name with a bit of an exclamation. It was as if he was constantly surprised by her presence. "What, ah, what can I do for you Astrid?"

"Well, I was wondering if the tack for Axe was done yet? The ropes I'm using are starting to chafe and…" Hiccup started nodding vigorously before she could finish.

"Oh yeah! Of course! I finished that just this morning. Just give me a second and I'll get it for you." He smiled happily at her, then glanced down at the metal rods and lumber he'd dropped. For just a moment a grimace seemed to cross his features, but he quickly started to kneel down to pick up the fallen goods.

It only took Astrid a moment to realize what the problem was. _His foot! I bet he can't bend over properly yet with his new leg. I'm surprised he's doing so well with it so quickly!_ She started to bend over herself to pick up some of the items.

"Here, let me help you." But Hiccup just waved her off.

"It's fine. I've got it." He gave her a reassuring smile then focused on his task. Crouching down, he began to scoop up his possessions. It didn't escape Astrid's notice just how much he was straining to keep himself from toppling over, or how his leg muscled quivered in tension. The sight worried her a little. But it was clear Hiccup wanted to do it himself, and far be it for her to interfere with another Viking's stubbornness.

"S… See? No problem!" He grunted a bit in relief as he stood upright once again. "Let me put these away and I'll have your new harness and tack in a second!" He turned away from her and began walking into the side room he used as his workshop.

Astrid followed behind him, watching. Strangely enough his limp seemed to have… well, not quite vanished. But he was walking far more normally as the blonde watched. She flushed a bit when she found her eyes sliding up from his legs to his rear, and turned to look away with a huff as they entered his workshop.

What she saw inside gave her pause. The room was poorly lit with a few feeble candles for illumination. She wasn't even sure if there WAS a window in the place. It was small and a bit cramped with most of the space occupied by a long table and a few rough hewn shelves. But every square inch of the place seemed to be covered or occupied.

Bits of wood and metal littered the workbench. Chisels and hammers and random tools fought for shelf space with half carved blocks of wood and scraps of iron and leather. Wicker baskets filled with bits and pieces of who-knows-what also occupied their fair share of the space. Even the walls themselves were being put to use, having been covered in paper and parchment. Mostly sketches of one sort or another. Some were just fanciful drawings, but most seemed to be drawings of devices or objects. One of the larger ones was stretched out on the wall over the desk, and was obviously a design for Toothless' prosthetic tailfin. All of the drawings were covered with little scrawled notes or scribbles of smaller details. Or sometimes just random doodles of flowers or animals.

The room was small and cramped and cluttered. It had no real windows and each lit candle sat upon a pile of melted wax, the remains of it's many predecessors. This was clearly a place where Hiccup spent a great deal of his time. Hidden in the back of the forge, out of sight. Out of mind. For some reason Astrid found herself frowning at the thought of Hiccup spending so much time here, alone.

With a small sigh of relief, Hiccup dropped his load on the workbench. Glancing over at Astrid, he flushed a bit. He could tell she was looking around at the disarray of his inner sanctum, and could see the frown on her face.

"Sorry, it's a bit of a mess in here." He muttered, quickly moving over to one of the shelves to grab a mass of metal and leather. "Here, there's more light in the forge…" He moved quickly, blowing out the candles before Astrid could see more of his embarrassingly messy space.

Once again Astrid found herself following Hiccup as he ambled into the main room of the smithy. Sparing the darkened doorway into the workshop one last lingering glance, she returned her attention to Hiccup as he turned to face her next to the forge. The flicking illumination from the wall sconces combined with the dimming flames of the forge to fill the room with light, revealing what Hiccup was carrying.

With a slightly nervous smile, he held out the harness and saddle for her inspection. It was different from the one he had made for Toothless. A Nadder's back was shaped differently than his best friend's, so of course the saddle had to be made differently as well. Long straps of leather were woven together to form a single seat. Additional leather straps hung off the sides of it, leading to metal belts and buckles that would allow it to be strapped around the dragon's neck and stomach.

Astrid stepped forward and carefully took the saddle from Hiccup's hands. The craftsmanship was impressive. One of the metal bits caught her eyes as it reflected the light of the forge. Taking it into her hand, she looked at it closely. It was a round metal buckle that would rest across Axe's chest and act as the center point of the harness. Hiccup smiled softly as she turned the polished metal this way and that, admiring it.

Hiccup had a good hand when putting charcoal to paper, but he was no master engraver. Still, he'd obviously put some effort into this. The image was simple, and a bit rough, but the intent was still clear. A simple pair of double bladed axes, their shafts crossed, stood out on the metal.

"I, ah, just thought that you named her Axe, and you always seemed to carry that axe around with you in training, and…" He trailed off as Astrid lifted her head to look at him.

"It's beautiful. Thank you Hiccup." She surprised both of them as she leaned forward to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Hiccup took a step backwards in surprise, a smile on his face. Unfortunately this caused the stump of his injured leg to bump against the bench behind him. On the plus side, he had someplace to land when his leg gave out while he grimaced in pain. He sat down on the bench with a thud while lifting his metal foot off the floor and trying to ignore the stabbing sensation shooting up and down the remains of his limb.

"Are you okay Hiccup?" The concerned look in Astrid's eyes made something in Hiccup's stomach flutter. But it also it also filled him with shame to show such weakness in front of her.

"Ah, I'm fine Astrid, fine! Just thought I'd sit down to, ah, enjoy the… warmth of the fire!" He laughed weakly, trying to look nonchalant. He was a little surprised when Astrid didn't reply. Instead she just sat down next to him. Quite close to him, really. He raised an eyebrow at her after a moment of silence.

"What? Maybe I wanted to enjoy the warmth of the fire too." She replied haughtily. Hiccup gave her another small smile and turned to face the forge as silence descended once more, neither teen quite knowing what to say.

As the silence lingered, Astrid found her eyes drawn back to Hiccup's leg. The length of wood and metal looked terribly out of place beside his flesh and blood foot. With it's strange angles and springs, it definitely looked like something Hiccup might make. But not something that should be a part of him.

"So, how are you doing with your new leg?" Astrid gestured in its general direction, unable to take the silence any longer.

"What, this thing?" Hiccup plastered a smile across his face, lifting his leg so the prosthetic was stretched out in front of him. "It's going great! Why, it's the most Viking like part of me! It's strong as steel, it doesn't bruise, and it doesn't feel pain! You can't get more Viking than that!" He grinned at the blonde, but the grin slowly slid from his face when he saw the serious look Astrid was giving him.

"How can you act like that? Like the whole thing is just… funny?"

Hiccup gave her a crooked smile and shrugged. "Eh, you know how it is. It's not any fun if you don't get s scar out of it!"

Astrid cringed internally as Hiccup threw her words back at her. Not that he meant it to hurt her, but she could remember saying those exact words back on the first day of Dragon Training. It had been so clear back then. All real Vikings had scars. They were badges of honor. Mementos of battles long past. And all the best scars came with the best stories. Glorious battles and deadly fights and everything a young Viking wanted to be a part of. The deeds and the scars went hand in hand in their minds.

But that was before she'd seen first hand how those scars are earned. She'd only gotten a glimpse of Hiccup's leg before Stoic had hauled his son off to the healers. But she'd seen enough. And she'd seen him laying there on the boat, pale and unmoving the entire trip back. She'd seen the blankets that covered his thin form barely rising and falling over his chest. Seen the way they draped over his body, only emphasizing his missing limb.

And suddenly she realized that battle scars weren't quite as cool or dramatic as she'd once thought. Certainly not ones like THIS. And she began to realize that maybe, just maybe the reason why the older Vikings showed off their scars wasn't because they were proud of them. Or rather, that wasn't the whole of it. Maybe they showed them off because there was little they could do about the pain or loss. So in true Viking fashion they sought to get some use out of them as reminders of the past and lessons for the future.

The teenage recruits, herself included, never thought to ask if their elders had WANTED those scars and injuries that they had so coveted.

And out of all of them, she was certain that Hiccup would have been the only one to consider that possibility beforehand. To consider that maybe those scars represented MORE than just glory and honor. That maybe they represented pain and loss and death. And that perhaps the price that was paid for them was one they should not be quite so eager to pay.

Which just made it bitterly ironic that Hiccup was the one to be so grievously injured while the rest of them had nothing more than a few bruises and scrapes. For some reason it upset her. It upset her a lot. And it upset her even more the way HE just seemed to shrug it all off as if it were nothing.

"Aren't you, I don't know? Angry? Upset?" Astrid demanded. "For Odin's sake Hiccup, you lost your leg!"

This time a smaller, sadder smile crossed Hiccup's face as he replied. "Angry? At who? The Red Death? That's a bit pointless now, don't you think? Dad? For what? Doing what any Viking would have done, and going straight for the nest when he learned of it? Might as well be angry at water for being wet. Toothless? For not saving my leg?" He snorted at that one. "He risked his life to save mine. Anyway, I don't think I could begrudge him my leg if he'd snapped it off on purpose himself."

Astrid just raised an eyebrow at him at his last comment, looking at him as if he were crazy. With a sigh, Hiccup tried to explain.

"Look at Toothless Astrid. Look at his tail. Do you think half his tailfin fell off all on its own?" He met her eyes again, his expression disturbingly blank. "I did that Astrid. It's my fault. It was my invention that brought him down. That sheered off his tailfin. That robbed him of the ability to fly."

"But you didn't do it on purpose…" Astrid stopped when Hiccup looked at her as if she were an idiot.

"Of COURSE I did it on purpose! I was trying to kill him! Killing him was what I wanted most in the world! To kill a legendary Night Fury and win the respect of the village…" He made a broad sweeping gesture with his hands, before lowering them to his sides, shoulder slumping.

"And instead I managed to cripple my best friend." He hung his head lower, staring at the floor.

"But you fixed him! He can fly again." Seeing Hiccup act like this made her feel… uncomfortable. She wasn't quite sure what to do. Comforting people wasn't her forte. She didn't really know HOW. And this darker and more somber Hiccup was a stranger to her. The Hiccup she knew, the Hiccup she THOUGHT she knew, was always smiling. Or at least smirking. Or making snarky comments, mocking the world around him. This was yet another side of him she'd never seen before.

"I didn't really FIX him Astrid. He can't fly on his own. Only with my help." He raised his head again to look her in the eye. "I don't think I can ever give him back what he had before. The ability to fly where he wants, when he wants, all on his own." He wiggled his prosthetic.

"And that's why I'd never be upset with him over my leg. Even if I hadn't lost it in battle. Even if he'd taken it off himself. Because even then it wouldn't be fair. I can still walk on my own, more or less. Toothless can't fly without me. Besides, I know Toothless would never hurt me. What I lost, I lost by accident. But what I took from him… I took while meaning him harm." His eyes left Astrid's face and returned to the stone floor of the shop.

Astrid spent a moment taking in his words before placing a hand on his shoulder, startling him with the contact.

"But look at all the good that's come out of it! If you hadn't injured Toothless, the two of you would never have met. You'd never have been friends. And look at what you did for the rest of Berk! We'd still be fighting dragons instead of making friends with them if not for your two!"

Hiccup looked up at her as she spoke, and once again that small, sad, lopsided smile crossed his face.

"Just because something good came from something bad, it doesn't make the bad thing good." He said simply, a sad certainty in his eyes. His attention shifted to the hand on his shoulder for a moment before he abruptly stood up, stretching his arms.

"W.. Well, it's getting late, and I should close up for the night…" He hid another grimace of pain as he put weight on his prosthetic leg and plastered another smile on his face, trying to lighten the mood.

"After all, you know how clumsy I am when I'm well rested. If I start stumbling around in here, I'll likely lose another limb! And then Gober will start complaining that I'm trying to copy him." He rolled his eyes, smiling back at Astrid. But once again Astrid failed to smile back, instead giving him a steely look filled with determination.

"Stop that." She said simply.

Hiccup looked at her in confusion. "Stop what?"

"Stop acting like that!" She stood up off the bench, standing face to face with him. "Like nothing is important and everything is fine or like everything's a joke…"

"But… But Astrid, this is how I always act." The red headed Viking stared at her with an honestly puzzled expression on his face as Astrid stepped closer and poked him in the chest with a finger.

"That's it exactly! I don't want you to ACT around me!" She suddenly paused, taking a step back, her cheeks blushing red in the dim light of the forge.

"I, I think I'm starting to like you Hiccup Horrible Haddock the Third." She began, her eyes glancing away from him in embarrassment as she used his full name. But then her gaze locked back on his face once again.

"But I want to get to know you. The REAL you." She smiled softly at him, face still flushed, voice becoming gentler. "I know there's more to you than what everyone sees on the surface. Than what you LET people see. And I want to see those parts of you too. Without you hiding them away from me."

Hiccup just stared at her with his mouth hanging open in surprise, slightly dazed by the way her behavior seemed to whipsaw back and forth between angry and tender. When she said she liked him a truly enormous smile lit up his face. His green eyes seemed to glow in the light of the forge, and Astrid could feel her heartbeat speed up when she looked at that smile. The big, honest smile her words had put there. But then…

Once, when she was a little girl, Astrid had chanced to see one of the many rocky promontories of Berk collapse into the sea. The waves head eaten away at the bottom of the outcropping over the years, until the entire cliff face gave way. It started moving slowly, yet inevitably downwards, cracking and crumbling into pieces as it slid into the ocean, vanishing beneath the waves, never to be seen again. The entire event took a few short seconds, yet seemed to last an eternity to her young mind.

It was the closest thing she could compare to the way Hiccup seemed to crumble in on himself. The way the smile seemed to slide off of his face. The way the exuberant light in his eyes dulled. The way his shoulders dropped and his posture slumped.

"That's. That's probably not a good idea." He mumbled, eyes downcast.

Astrid just stood there for a moment, shocked at the sudden and inexplicable change in Hiccup's demeanor.

"Wha.. What are you talking about?" Astrid gaped at him, a fist seeming to clench around her heart. _Is… Is he rejecting me?_

"You… you wouldn't like what you found." Was the quiet, subdued reply.

"Hiccup. Hiccup! Look and me and tell me what you're talking about!" She growled, hands on her hips. She couldn't understand the way he was acting. It was strange and confusing and it was easier to ignore the sensations in her stomach if she was angry.

Hiccup lifted his head to meet her eyes uncomfortably for a moment before lowering them and speaking.

"Astrid, you're the best Viking in out generation. And me? I'm the worst Viking Berk has ever known."

"Hiccup! You are NOT!" Astrid said heatedly, somehow offended that he'd even say such a thing about himself.

"No Astrid, I am." He spoke softly now, but with a calm certainty. "That's exactly what my father told me. Before he started complimenting me on how much I had changed. On how well I was doing in dragon training." He sighed heavily. "The first time I can remember him EVER saying he was proud of me. ME! And it was all a lie."

He looked back up at Astrid, silencing her reply with the look on his face.

"But that's not the reason I'm the worst Viking. Do you remember the first time we fought your deadly Nadder in the arena? Do you remember the end, when your axe got stuck in my shield?"

Astrid nodded her head silently. She and Axe got along well these days. Flying on her back was… Exhilarating. She didn't like to think back to the time, not long ago, when the two of them had tried to harm each other. But she remembered.

"You said something important to me then. You said that our parent's war was soon going to be ours." Hiccup turned away from her and started to bank the fires in the forge, putting away his tools, not quite looking back at her. "And you said I needed to pick a side." He paused again, hanging up a hammer. "Do you remember that first night when you found Toothless and me?"

"Of course. I could hardly forget it!"

"Do you remember what I was doing then?" He asked, voice low and quiet.

It took Astrid a moment to recall those memories. In truth, the shock, terror, and finally awe of the latter portion of the evening tended to drown out what came before. And atop that was the fact that her behavior then was something else she didn't enjoy thinking back upon.

But the things she'd heard as she stalked him came back to her. The words he'd spoken. _'We've leaving.' 'Taking a vacation' 'Forever'._

"You… you were getting ready to leave…? And not… not come back…" She whispered.

Hiccup kept his back to her as he undid his leather apron, not wanting to see the disappointed look on her face.

"That's why I'm the worst Viking Berk has ever known. I knew you were right back then. And I picked a side." Without looking back he hung his apron on a peg and stepped out the door into the darkening night, the clanking of his prosthetic leg quickly muffled as the door shut behind him.

By the time Astrid overcame her surprise at this sudden revelation and hurried to the door he was gone, the sound of a Night Fury's wings already fading into the distance.

* * *

**And thus ends THAT chapter. Don't worry though. I have at least one more chapter planned. Time, motivation, and my muse permitting of course. Hopefully this chapter wasn't too much of a deviation from the first. I was a little worried Hiccup might seem a bit schizophrenic: Happy in one chapter, depressed in the next. Of course part of that can be explained by the fact that Astrid is poking past his shell.**

**Hopefully the next chapter will be a bit more uplifting. When I eventually get around to writing it.**

**Hmmmmmm. I really hope I caught all the major typos in this thing…**


	3. Why Did You Stay?

**Why Did You Stay?**

* * *

Astrid walked back towards her home through the growing darkness, paying little heed to her surroundings as her mind churned. Hiccup's words echoed in her ears.

_'That's why I'm the worst Viking Berk has ever known.' _Hiccup had seen a choice between being a Viking and being friends with a dragon. And he was going to choose the latter. HAD chosen really. He had been planning to turn his back on his people and run away. Where was the honor in that? Where was the bravery?

Other words began to echo in her mind as well. Words just a few days old. _'He's my best friend. My only friend.'_ Had Hiccup really been so alone? How alone would you have to be before your people's archenemies became a potential source of friendship? Before you looked to a dragon for kindness instead of your fellow Vikings?

_'The first time I can remember him EVER saying he was proud of me.'_ Astrid's parents had always been supportive of her. In a typically Viking sort of way. After all, she had grown up to be a model Viking herself. What would it have been like to have NOT had that support? To always be a disappointment, no matter how hard she tried?

Who DID Hiccup have to support him anyway? Besides himself? It had always been just Hiccup. Hiccup and his bad luck and his strange, wordy, snarky sense of humor. Hiccup and his scrawny body, big ideas, and inevitable failures and screwups. Just Hiccup and his goofy smile and goofy behavior which always overshadowed the fact that it WAS _just_ Hiccup. Not Hiccup and friends. Or Hiccup and family.

Looking at it that way, what was he really leaving behind? Her? She cringed at the memory of twisting Hiccup's frail wrist and knocking him to the ground. And then dropping her axe on him in a rather… sensitive area. No, she herself had hardly given him any reason to stay, had she?

And that thought brought up other, even less pleasant thoughts. Thoughts about how she'd treated the red headed boy. Thoughts about how beneath her she had once considered him. Thoughts of how angry he had made her when he began surpassing her.

No, she definitely hadn't given him reason to stay.

So who had?

Who WAS important to Hiccup? What mattered to him? Who did he turn to when he needed help or advice? What did he do for fun? Who did he admire? Who did he hate?

And Astrid found herself wondering: _What, exactly, DO I know about Hiccup?_

She knew he was clumsy. That he smiled a lot and tended to make sarcastic jokes about everyone and everything. She knew he was an apprentice to Gober the blacksmith, and was apparently pretty good at his job, even if he had a tendency to build weird contraptions now and then. He was scrawny and weak for his age and was horrible with most any weapon placed in his hands. But… EVERYONE knew those things. What else did she know?

Well, she knew he had befriended a dragon. She could take some pride in the fact that she had known that before most anyone else, but once again it was common knowledge. She knew that he had defeated the Red Death and lost his leg in the process.

_But what do I know that isn't common knowledge? What do I know about him that's SPECIAL?_ She wondered to herself.

Astrid knew that Hiccup had a great many layers. If only because she kept finding new, unexpected ones. There was a surprising depth to him. Not that other Vikings were shallow. It's just that with most people on Berk, what you saw was what you got. Blunt and straightforward were the words of the day. But the more time she spent around Hiccup, the more she began to realize that what showed on his face was not always the same as what was going on in his head. Or his heart.

_What else?_ She knew why Hiccup failed to kill Toothless in that first fateful meeting. He'd told her it was because Toothless had looked as frightened as he was. That he'd seen himself in the dragon. She also now knew that Hiccup had planned to leave the village, with no plans to return. Not exactly a point in his favor, but…

But it was something he had admitted to her. Something she doubted he'd ever told anyone else. And somehow that knowledge made her feel… special.

She knew he was kind of cute, in a scrawny kind of way. Not that she'd admit it out loud. She knew that…

Her steps slowed as past images, words, and actions flashed before her eyes.

_"He's my best friend. My only friend."_

There WAS something else she knew about Hiccup.

_"Astrid, if something… goes wrong. Just make sure they don't find Toothless."_

Something important about him.

"_You want to keep it a SECRET? To protect your pet dragon? Are you SERIOUS?"_

"_Yes."_

Something she didn't think many people had realized yet. Perhaps because they had never given Hiccup reason to demonstrate it.

_She was falling through the air, her arms flailing ineffectually as the ground rushed up to meet her. Her life had just started flashing before her eyes when she saw a black blur diving towards her. Diving towards her right under the nose of the largest dragon Vikings had ever seen. Diving towards her practically through the monster's teeth in order to catch her. And then she heard his voice, filled with concern._

_"Did you get her?"_

Hiccup…

_"I couldn't begrudge him my leg if he'd snapped it off on purpose himself"._

Hiccup was…

_Without a second's hesitation, Hiccup leapt off the back of the Deadly Nadder and onto the deck of the burning galley. Paying scarce heed to the flames licking at the ship all around him, he immediately started working on Toothless's bindings. But he took a moment to turn and yell back at her first._

_"Go help the others!"_

Hiccup was INCREDIBLY loyal to his friends.

She doubted Hiccup would ever heft an axe over his shoulder and charge into battle seeking honor and glory. Raising a sword in anger just didn't seem like him. And forget dropping a war hammer on the head's of his foes. He'd be more likely to drop it on his own foot. Hiccup would never fight for HIMSELF.

But for his friends… For his friends he would… HAD!… Charged into the face of death itself.

_I really DON'T know much about Hiccup._ Astrid stared at her house as her slow steps brought her home. _But I know enough to know that he's loyal to a fault._ She stared at the flickering light that escaped around the doorframe and window shutters, promising a warm cheery fire inside. Then she turned her head away from the house to stare into the night sky. Full darkness had fallen, and the moon was hiding behind a veil of clouds. She hadn't seen Toothless and Hiccup depart, but she had heard his wings flapping. And she knew they weren't heading in the direction of their home.

_I know enough to know that he's special. I know enough to know that I want to know MORE about him._

She nodded her head in determination. Turning away from the door, she instead began to circle her house, heading for the rear of the building where a recently built lean-to housed her friend and partner.

"I just hope Axe is up to a late night flight…"

* * *

Hiccup sighed miserably as he leaned back against the scaly side of his best friend, staring up at the night sky. He lay on the ground beside Toothless in the small grotto where the two had first met. This was a special place for both of them. A place full of memories. Their first meeting. Their first fish. Their first flight. Meeting Astrid…

_Best not to continue that thought._ Hiccup sighed again, eyes sliding down to stare at the pond in the middle of the grotto as ripples slid slowly across its surface, distorting the reflection of the quarter moon and stars.

Beside him Toothless made a questioning purring sound and nudged his side with his nose, looking at him with big, soulful green eyes.

"Yeah buddy, I sure screwed that up." His hand slid downwards to absently scratch the dragon's neck. "I really should have just kept my mouth shut." Another sigh escaped his lips as his shoulders slumped a bit more.

"But Astrid is a smart girl. She would have figured it out on her own soon enough. It's probably better this way. It would hurt more later." He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, trying not to cry. "Everyone will figure it out sooner or later. I just hope I can teach them enough first… Enough that they'll want to keep learning on their own. So Vikings and dragons can live together in peace."

Toothless growled mournfully and nudged his friend's side again. He didn't understand. He hadn't heard Hiccup and Astrid's conversation. He didn't know WHY his flightless friend was so upset. If only the problem were something physical, something he could fight with claws and teeth! He'd tear it to shreds for harming Hiccup! And then burn each shred into ash! But while he didn't fully understand what was hurting his human, his partner… he was certain it wasn't something he could fend off with talons and fire. He just wished he knew what to do.

He did know some things however. He knew that his human was unhappy. Oh, he saw Hiccup smiling as he walked around town, but he couldn't fool Toothless. Toothless could see his pain. And the dragon could also see that not all of his pain was from his leg. The only time Hiccup seemed truly happy was the few hours a day when they would go flying together.

Toothless loved those times the most. Not just because he got to feel the wind under his wings once again. Not just because he could return to his rightful place in the sky. No, he loved those times of day because however much joy he felt, he could feel just as much radiating off his passenger. Toothless has always been happiest in the air. But somehow sharing that feeling of happiness with the red headed boy made every flight infinitely better.

When they were soaring through the clouds, he could tell that Hiccup was really, truly happy. And Toothless was proud of the fact that as a Night Fury he could outrun and outfly ANYTHING. He could even outrun the pain in Hiccup's leg, leaving it far behind in slipstream they generated. In the air his friend barely seemed to notice his missing limb. Just as Toothless barely noticed his missing tailfin anymore when the two of them took to the sky.

When they flew together, they both felt whole once again. When they flew together Toothless felt like he could outrun the sun itself. Little things like the aches in Hiccup's body, or even the aches in his heart, had no chance of keeping pace with them. They were left behind in the dust. For a little while at least.

But that wasn't the case this evening. Whatever dark malaise was trailing his friend tonight had proven doggedly determined and persistent in tracking him. And there seemed to be little Toothless could do to dispel it.

A low worried moan from Toothless was enough to regain Hiccup's attention, and he smiled sadly at his friend, giving the black scaled dragon some more attention, hands running over his scales.

"I'm fine buddy." The lie slid off his tongue with practiced ease. "I'm just tired I guess. Tired of hiding things."

He closed his eyes and sighed again. He was good at hiding things. It was kind of ironic that he could be so bad at LYING and yet so skilled at hiding. Hiding the fact that he'd freed a Night Fury. Hiding the fact that he couldn't kill a dragon. Hiding the fact that he'd become FRIENDS with a dragon. Hiding his work on Toothless' prosthetic tailfin. Hiding where his sudden dragon fighting skills had come from. Hiding how much his ruined leg truly pained him. Hiding the fact that he was a coward who had planned to run away from his tribe.

And from when he was a child, hiding the pain from the taunts of his peers. Hiding the pain from his father's disappointment. Hiding everything behind a smile and a witty joke.

But deep down Hiccup feared that he really wasn't any better at hiding things than he was at lying. He feared that his secrets remained safe not because of his skill at hiding them but because… no one cared.

When Hiccup had been designing and building Toothless' tailfin he had left plans and parts and drawings lying around his workroom. Gober had only been able to build a replacement while he had been unconscious because he'd found the design drawings practically out in the open. Hiccup hadn't really bothered to hide them. He had hardly even considered it really. They were perfectly safe there on his workbench. After all, it wasn't as if anyone else had ever gone back there. It wasn't as if anyone had ever been interested in what he was doing.

It wasn't as if anyone had CARED.

But things had changed. Oh, how they'd changed! And they'd changed so very, very FAST! Now EVERYONE was interested in him. People wanted to know what he was doing! What he was thinking! What he was making and how he had made it! People were watching him! Staring at him! Pointing at him instead of ignoring him! He had people's attention!

And he felt certain that it wouldn't be long before all that attention stripped away his secrets. His failings. His weaknesses (the one's he'd kept hidden, not just the obvious ones that everyone knew and mocked). His mistakes. His cowardice. All the things he'd been sure he had well hidden, but were only truly hidden by the apathy of those around him.

Somehow… somehow he had achieved all he had ever dreamed of. He had respect. He had attention. He had his father's approval. He was cloaked in glory that would never fade. And he was certain, absolutely certain, that it would all come crumbling down around him in short order.

But that didn't mean he would let his new status go to waste! No matter how short lived it might be! No, he was determined to put his reputation to good use while he could! He filled his days with metal and leather, working in the smithy and trying to impart as much of his knowledge to Gober as he could. And when he wasn't working in the forge he was trying to help small groups of his fellow Vikings understand their dragons. Trying to help them form bonds with the creatures. Trying to help them become FRIENDS.

Trying to use the things Toothless had taught him to sew together Viking and dragon society in the short time he had while they still respected him.

The rest of his time was spent doing his best to avoid everyone else. Trying to stay out of the limelight. Trying to avoid the attention he was sure would strip away his defenses and leave his secrets bare to the world. The longer he could hide the truth, the more he could do to help the relationship between humans and dragons along. To create a safe future for his friends, both those covered in skin and those covered in scales.

That was why the happiest moments of his day were the times he spent on Toothless' back. In the sky there was no one to hide from. In the sky there was no one to see his weakness. In the sky it was just him and Toothless, whom he would trust with any secret. When they were in the air, he could feel the dragon's joy and happiness, and it warmed his heart to know that, in some small way, he was helping his friend experience those feelings again.

A nudge and a low whine roused Hiccup from his thoughts. Looking into those big green eyes, filled with care and concern, he couldn't help but smile at his black scaled friend. His first genuine smile since they'd left the smithy.

"Whatever happens, we'll take care of each other, right buddy?" He grinned as Toothless nodded his head with great certainly. He grinned even wider when he began to scratch the dragon's scales in earnest, and Toothless plopped his head bonelessly onto the boy's lap in response.

The night was growing cold, but the dragon's scales were warm and comfortable as he leaned back against Toothless' body, his head on his lap. It had been a long day. An endless series of long days in truth. And Toothless' warmth and low purr of pleasure was having a relaxing, lethargic effect on him.

Which was why he didn't immediately recognize the whooshing sound of a dragon cutting through the night sky. Or even the sound of boots on the soft ground. He didn't notice much of anything until Toothless lifted his head from his lap.

* * *

Axe has seemed a bit peeved when Astrid had awoken her a few minutes after arriving home. But the dragon seemed to pick up on her mood after a few moments. And when she had asked Axe if she was up for a midnight flight, the dragon had just nodded determinedly.

Convincing Axe to go for a ride proved to be the easier part of the journey. For starters, there was the fact that she didn't actually know where she was going. She was determined to find Hiccup and talk to him. But the truth was, she had no idea where he might be. She honestly didn't know where he went on his flights with Toothless. She didn't know where he might go when he was sad or confused.

_Another thing about him I don't know._ She thought to herself in disgust. She really only knew of one place in that direction which might hold any meaning to Hiccup. On the plus side, that reduced the amount of searching she had to do. If he wasn't there, she had no clue where he might be. On the minus side, she had only been there once. In the daylight. On the ground. And she knew from experience that things looked far different from the air.

Still, she was determined to try. So she spoke softly to Axe and explained what she wanted. She described the bowl shaped grotto she was looking for, and gave directions as best she could from memory. And when she finished she mentally crossed her fingers, hoping that her dragon would understand her.

And her hopes were realized when, after a few moments consideration, Axe nodded her head and lowered herself to the ground with a cooing noise to give Astrid easier access to her saddle.

And then they were in the air. And suddenly Astrid found herself questioning the wisdom of her decision to follow Toothless and Hiccup into the night. Sure, she had flown with Axe dozens of times by now. But she'd never flown upon her back at night before.

In fact, the only time she'd even flown at night was that first time with Hiccup on Toothless. And even then, it had been a clear night with a full moon, providing some semblance of illumination. On THIS evening, the moon was little more than a crescent, and the sky was overcast. At the whim of the wind and clouds the entire world would be plunged into almost total darkness.

Of course, her partner seemed to have little difficulty seeing through the shadows. Astrid expected no less. It was well known that dragons had excellent night vision. If they didn't, they would hardly have been able to attack Berk at night after all. But knowing something and experiencing it are two different things. And Astrid really hadn't considered just how much trust she was putting into her dragon.

Astrid was practically blind as they flew through the night sky. When the clouds passed before the moon, she was lucky if she could tell if they were over land or water. She was forced to trust her partner. Trust that Axe knew where she was going. Trust that she could SEE where she was going. Trust in her dragon not to run them both in a mountain. Or the ocean. Or a stand of trees. Or just leave her stranded somewhere far from the village, or on one of the small islets that surrounded Berk proper.

She was not just at the dragon's mercy. That was more or less true every time they flew. Now she was also dependent on Axe for everything. Even sight. She had to trust her dragon, her partner, completely.

After a few minutes, her death grip on the reigns loosened. A few minutes after that and she was no longer squinting her eyes, desperately and hopelessly trying to make out what was more than a few feet in front of her nose. And eventually she found herself relaxing, absently scratching Axe's neck as she stared up into the cloudy night sky, occasionally catching glimpses of the stars from far closer than she'd have even dreamed possible mere weeks ago.

It was almost a surprise when Axe began descending. Astrid squinted her eyes into the darkness, trying to see if they were in the right place. And more importantly, if Hiccup and Toothless were there. At first she couldn't even tell what lay below her, it was so dark. But then the Gods seemed to smile upon her, and the clouds parted. The quarter moon cast it's feeble illumination across the Earth, revealing the terrain below her.

In the dim moonlight she could make out a large rounded grotto, surrounded by rocky walls and trees. She could see the light reflecting off a small pond in the center of the clearing. And, far more importantly, she could just make out a dark, black spot on the ground that seemed to soak up what little moonlight there was, reflecting none of it back.

And beside it, there was the faintest glint of metal, shining in the darkness.

"All right Axe, we've found them! Now bring us in nice and quiet." She whispered to her mount over the wind, patting the dragon's neck.

The Deadly Nadder just nodded its head in reply, and once again they were descending, gliding down into the grotto on outstretched wings.

* * *

Hiccup leaned back against Toothless' side, soaking up the warmth from his scales and staring blankly at the night sky. He wasn't paying much attention to the world around him. He didn't hear the whistle of the wind beneath a dragon's wings. Or the soft 'whump' of claws and then boots striking the earth.

But Toothless did.

Toothless noticed the Nadder coming in to land. And he heard the soft footsteps approaching himself and his friend. But more importantly, he recognized who it was that was coming to visit them. Which was why he held his peace, not reacting to Astrid's approach. Not giving his partner any hint that someone else was there.

Because Toothless knew that whatever was hurting Hiccup was something he couldn't fix by himself. How could he, when he didn't even fully understand it? But he had high hopes that whatever the problem was, it was something another Viking might understand. Something another Viking might be able to FIX.

And there was something else Toothless knew. He knew that while Hiccup usually greeted the world with a smile on his lips, it didn't always reach his eyes. Hiccup only smiled, really, truly smiled, for those he cared about. Toothless was proud of the fact that he could always draw out one of those true, honest smiles, even on the ground. And in the air Hiccup almost always wore one.

Other's could also occasionally earn one of those smiles. The red head's father. Gober the Belch. The other teenagers. Though none of them seemed observant enough to notice the difference between a smile that only graced the lips, and one that came from the heart.

Toothless was that observant though. He had to be, in order to try to understand the strange, flightless creature he had somehow become friends with. And he had long since noticed that besides himself there was only one other person who could almost always garner one of those honest, heartfelt smiles.

Which was why he was so pleased to sense the blonde haired Viking's approach.

* * *

Hiccup stared up at the night sky in a daze. It was relaxing, laying there. Toothless was making that low, rumbling purr of his, deep enough to lightly shake the Viking's bones as he leaned into it. Above that, he could hear the wind blowing through the grass and trees, and the sound of ripples spreading across the pond as fish disturbed it's surface. High above him, the clouds glided silently in front of the stars. It was… calming. Serene. Those were things he'd been lacking the last few weeks.

So Hiccup relaxed, letting his mind go blank. He didn't think about anything. Didn't pay attention to anything. He just… laid there. Right up until Toothless suddenly stopped purring and lifted his head. That was enough to draw Hiccup's attention back to the here and now. Enough to make him lower his head and focus on his surroundings.

And just like that, his calmness and serenity vanished.

"A.. .Astrid!" He leapt to his feet in shock as he caught a glimpse of the blonde.

"AAARGGHH!" And he collapsed right back onto the ground as his leg gave out beneath him, unwilling to take any more abuse. His entire side felt like it was on fire. Even the parts he knew for a fact were no longer there were in pain. As startled as he was, he failed to silence his short cry of pain as he slumped back against the Night Fury, sliding down further onto the ground. Just his head rested against Toothless' scales, his face once again turned towards the heavens. He could hear Toothless let out a worried growl, but paid it no heed.

After a brief moment of struggling to find the strength to try to stand again, Hiccup just closed his eyes and sighed, letting himself go limp on the ground.

_'What's the point? She's already seen that I'm a coward.' _He thought morbidly to himself. _'It hardly matters if she sees that I'm just as weak physically too.'_

When he opened his eyes once more, he was hardly surprised to find Astrid standing above him, looking down at him. The clouds had parted once again, and the moonlight seemed to bathe her face and reflect off her blonde hair. Under other circumstances, he would have stared in wonder. But at the moment all he could manage was a blank look devoid of hope.

A detached portion of his mind found the situation strange. Astrid didn't look how he had expected her to. She didn't appear to be angry. Or worse, disappointed. She didn't seem sad, or even upset. Instead she merely looked… pensive. And when she spoke, Hiccup could only stare at her in confusion.

Instead of the condemnations he had expected and fully deserved, she spoke only a single, puzzling word.

"Why?"

* * *

Astrid stared down at Hiccup, waiting for his response. He looked so small and… defeated laying there on the ground. The blank, hopeless look on his upturned face made her feel as if someone had a hand around her heart and was squeezing. At least the confused expression that her question elicited was an improvement.

"Why was I going to leave?"

Astrid shook her head at his hollow sounding reply.

"No." She said simply. "I think I understand that. Why did you STAY?"

Hiccup just gaped at her as Toothless stood stock still, head turned to watch the proceedings, but not daring to interrupt.

"You and Toothless could have left at any time. I could hardly have stopped you." She continued evenly.

"I couldn't just leave…."

"That's what you had planned to do though. Why didn't you?" Hiccup cringed at her words, but there was no accusation in her voice.

"Well, we had just found the dragon's nest…"

"And I could have told the village about it myself, after you two left. Why?"

Hiccup sighed, breaking eye contact with her and staring at the stars again.

"Because of you, I guess." He didn't see her tilt her head at him curiously, but he continued anyway after a moment. "When you found us… I couldn't just leave. I didn't want to leave with the village thinking badly of me." He sighed again, deciding to be a bit more honest. "With YOU thinking badly of me. Well, worse of me at any rate."

"And after that…" He lowered his head to look her in the eye again. "You're the best Viking in our generation. And… And you LISTENED to me. You believed me. I thought… I KNEW… that if I told anyone, they wouldn't listen. No one ever does. If I told anyone, they'd just kill Toothless…" He rubbed a hand along the Night Fury's side, as if reassuring himself that the dragon was still there.

"But then I thought that maybe… just maybe… if I managed to convince YOU… Maybe I could convince the rest of Berk. Maybe I could stop the fighting. And if there really WAS a chance I could do it, I had to at least try." He laughed hollowly. "And we all saw how well THAT worked out. Almost getting myself AND you killed by that Nightmare. Toothless in chains. Dad pretty much disowning me. Half of Berk almost being killed by the Red Death." He snorted, shaking his head.

The moonlight did an excellent job of hiding Astrid's blush. Hiccup was once again proving her wrong. Perhaps she HAD given him a reason to stay. But as he continued speaking her blush faded, replaced by an angry frown as his words grated on her nerves.

"And then you risked your life to save Toothless. To save EVERYONE. You taught the rest of us how to ride dragons. You fought and defeated the largest dragon ANYONE has EVER seen! And you showed all of Berk that dragons and Vikings CAN work together!" Astrid's voice rose as she found herself growing angrier and angrier at Hiccup's attitude. But Hiccup just sighed.

"Just because something good came from…" He began again, his face still turned towards the sky. But Astrid didn't allow him to finish.

"Stop that!" She growled, kneeling down in front of him. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third, you are bad at wielding an axe! You're bad at swinging a hammer! You're clumsy! You can barely throw a punch! And you're so scrawny a stiff breeze could blow you over!" Hiccup barely even cringed at each statement, or the poke to the chest Astrid used to emphasize each one. There was a dull, blank look in his eyes, but at least he was facing her now as she took a deep breath to continue.

"But you are NOT a BAD PERSON!" She practically shouted at him, voice so filled with conviction that Hiccup couldn't help but blink and stare at her in surprise. "You are NOT something bad! And if no one ever told you that before, it's our fault for not noticing it, not yours!" She nodded fiercely.

Hiccup just stared at her, dumbfounded for a moment, before smiling slightly and shaking his head.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm not a bad person. But I'm still a bad Viking."

"No. You're. NOT!" Astrid growled, poking him again. But Hiccup just gave her a crooked, wistful smile.

"Yes, I am. You just said it yourself." Astrid leaned back on her heels at his calm words. "I'm weak. I CAN'T swing an axe or a hammer. I can just barely avoid hurting myself with a sword. My punches could barely bowl over a rabbit. I'm useless in a fight." He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye, sliding himself upwards against Toothless into a proper seating position. "Astrid, all of that is what it MEANS to be a Viking."

"But… But there's more to being a Viking than just that!" She sputtered in response.

"Well, yeah. There's bravely rushing off into battle. But I'd much rather avoid a fight. There's bragging about past victories, but I'm a bit short on those. And there's showing off mementos of past fights." He wiggled his prosthetic leg. "But I think Toothless and I could both pass on the reminders and mementos. I'm not strong. I'm not brave. I'm just… Hiccup." He shrugged helplessly, still giving her a weak, lopsided smile.

Astrid just stared back at him as if he were insane.

"Hiccup." She spoke very slowly, enunciating each word as if talking to a small child. Or a madman. "You picked a fight. With THE single largest dragon. Vikings. Have. EVER. Seen. And you won. Most people consider that to be pretty brave."

Hiccup waved his hand dismissively. "Toothless did all that. I was just along for the ride."

Astrid opened her mouth to respond, but Toothless beat her to it. Apparently he decided it was past time for him to enter the conversation. And he intended to make HIS opinion on Hiccup's role in their victory clear. He yowled angrily at Hiccup as he dismissed his own contributions, giving him a slit pupiled stare.

"What? It's true!" He exclaimed.

"Ouch!" And Toothless rebutted by glaring at him and swatting his face lightly with his tailfin. The flesh and blood side of course. The prosthetic would have left a mark.

Astrid just smirked at the sight, before continuing, sounding both amused at Toothless' antics and disbelieving at Hiccup's low opinion of himself.

"Oh, of course. So you had nothing to do with defeating the Red Death. Toothless figured out how to do it all on his own."

"Well, I thought up the plan, but all I did was almost get us BOTH kil… OUCH!" Toothless gave him another tail-swat as Astrid continued.

"And it's not like you, I don't know, leapt off a dragon in flight onto the deck of a burning ship to free him or anything."

"Well, I couldn't just LEAVE him there… there was nothing brave about i… OW!" Astrid just steamrolled over him as Toothless gave him another swat.

"And you'd never do something crazy, like try to face down a Monstrous Nightmare unarmed just to make a point to the whole village…"

"But I wasn't in any real danger from the… OUCH! That is, it was perfectly safe until dad set it off. It knew it wouldn't hurt m… OUCH! Okay, I was PRETTY sure it wouldn't… OW! Toothless! Fine! I was just HOPING it wouldn't try to eat me right off the bat! Happy now?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Astrid had to fight down a giggle as the two males stared at each other with narrowed eyes, Toothless arching his neck around to stare at Hiccup as he leaned against the dragons side, rubbing his face where Toothless had slapped him. Repeatedly.

"Sure. You've NEVER done ANYTHING brave at ALL." Astrid rolled her eyes, still smirking.

"But I HAVEN… OUCH!" Hiccup rubbed the side of his head and shook his finger warningly at Toothless. But the dragon just smirked at him toothily, his smug grin disturbingly similar to the one gracing Astrid's face. Looking back and forth between the two, his eyebrow twitched.

"Enough already! It's not fair with the two of you double teaming me! I can barely handle one of you, let alone both at once!" He crossed his arms and practically pouted.

"BARELY handle one of us?" Astrid asked haughtily. "SOMEONE thinks too highly of themselves." Her smile grew as Toothless nodded vigorously in agreement with her. Hiccup just groaned and placed his face in his hands, eliciting a snicker from the Night Fury.

Eventually Hiccup lowered his hands , giving Astrid a more honest smile, even if it was still tinged with sadness. The tension between the three was, if not quite broken, at least battered.

"Thank you Astrid." Hiccup began quietly. "I appreciate what you're trying to do. But I really AM a horrible Viking." She opened her mouth to reply, but the young red head just raised his hand to forestall her.

"It's alright though. I'm okay with that." The look on his face made it clear that he WASN'T okay with it… but that he was trying to be. "I guess I always knew, deep down, that I'd never fit in. That'd I'd never really be a proper Viking. I kept trying but…" He shrugged, then turned to face Toothless, running a hand along his friend's side, scratching his scales.

"And then, when I met Toothless… When I couldn't kill him… That's when I truly realized I'd never be a Viking." Toothless whimpered and bumped his head against his partner's side, but Hiccup just smiled at him and scratched behind his earfins.

"Don't feel bad buddy. The only thing I regret about it is hurting you in the first place." Toothless just gave him one of his patented toothless smiles before licking the young man's face to show that he held no hard feelings.

Astrid watched on, a surprisingly gentle smile on her face at the display of affection between the two. And at the way Hiccup tried to push his playful friend away and avoid his tongue, complaining that his breath smelled like fish.

Finally Hiccup managed to fend Toothless off. Or rather, Toothless decided he'd demonstrated his feelings sufficiently for the time being. The red headed Viking looked back at Astrid and took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Well, I guess we should be heading back now. Before people start worrying." Even in the moonlight, Astrid could tell that the grin he had plastered across his face was more of a grimace as Hiccup slowly returned to his feet. The spring in his prosthetic made a disturbing squeaking sound as it was compressed, the steel quivering under tension. Just as Hiccup himself was practically quivering at the strain of keeping a smile on his face.

"Hiccup…" Astrid eyed him suspiciously, recalling the way he'd collapsed when she first arrived. "Are you sure your leg is okay?"

"Of course Astrid. It's never been better…." He stood up straighter in response, trying to keep the pain out of his voice.

Toothless rolled his eyes and snorted at Hiccup's bravado, having had enough of his partner's behavior. His tail swished around again, the very tip brushing against the side of the Viking's artificial leg.

With a startled yelp of pain, Hiccup's leg gave out.

Of course, there was a black-scaled arm behind him to catch him before he could fall, and lower him gently to a sitting position. While Hiccup was distracted sucking air through his clenched teeth, Toothless turned his expressive eyes towards Astrid, giving her a despondent look, his ears drooping down against his neck. Then he glanced down at the gasping Viking leaning back against his side.

He might not have had a voice to speak the words, but it was perfectly clear what he was saying. _'Please, help my friend.'_

It was a plea that Astrid could hardly ignore. She took a step forward and kneeled down besides him.

"Hiccup…"

"It's fine. Just caught me by surprise…" Hiccup warbled out, still struggling to smile reassuringly at her

"Hiccup, if a light tap like that is enough to bring you to your knees, them something is wrong. Let me take a look." She kept her voice low and conversational as she drew closer.

"Ah, that's not really such a good idea…" He swallowed nervously. "I mean, you don't want to see that…"

Astrid narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you saying it's too much for me? That I'm too squeamish? That I won't be able to look at a battle wound? That I shouldn't see it because I'm a GIRL?" She growled menacingly at him.

"Wha…? N.. No! Of course not Astrid! Not at all! I'd never think that!" Hiccup's eyes went wide in fear at her tone of voice.

"Good." She nodded firmly, the air of menace surrounding her evaporating as if it never were. Suddenly she was all business once again, looking down at his prosthetic. "Now let's get this thing off and see how your leg is doing."

"Ah… Yes! I mean, no! I mean, this isn't a good idea because it's... It's too dark out to tend to it anyway, so we should just go home!" Hiccup offered hopefully. Somehow he felt more off-balance sitting on the ground than he did standing WITHOUT his false leg. Astrid's rapid shifts in attitude just had that effect on him.

"Hmmmmmm." Astrid paused, tapping her chin. "You know, you DO have a point there." Hiccup breathed a small sigh of relief. It didn't last long however.

"A nice little fire will give us plenty of light. And some more heat would be nice too." She smirked at him as his face fell, standing up to her full height. "I'll go collect some firewood. Don't go anywhere."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Hiccup replied faintly as the blonde haired girl stalked off into the darkness. He turned to look at Toothless, giving the dragon a puzzled look. The night fury just shrugged its shoulder in reply. If Hiccup couldn't understand human females, what made him think Toothless would have any insight?

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**I had originally intended to end this fic with three chapter. But the third chapter started growing longer and longer. And worse, I'm having trouble getting the ending to flow quite right. I fear my muse is starting to abandon me. So I decided to split this section into two chapter.**

**But fear not! The final chapter is mostly written. I'm just not quite happy with it yet. I should have this story wrapped up soon with a little work.**


	4. Wounds of the Flesh, Wounds of the Spiri

Alrighty then. The last chapter didn't seem to garner much response. I hope I didn't make Hiccup too whiny and emo. (Or have too many egregious typos!) But regardless, here is the final chapter! So, without further ado….

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**Wounds of the Flesh, Wounds of the Spirit**

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In short order Astrid had a pile of dry branched and twigs arranged at the edge of the pond. Up until now Axe had kept his distance from the trio, hunkering down to take a nap a few dozen feet behind them. At Astrid's request however, the Deadly Nadder happily trotted over to set the campfire alight. The blonde Viking barely had to bother with kindling, since the dragon's breath was more than hot enough to set even the dampest wood alight.

It was rather interesting to see the dragons react to each other. All the other dragons tended to maintain a… call it a respectful distance around Toothless. Or maybe it was around Hiccup. It was hard to tell, since the two were practically inseparable. But they also seemed surprisingly trusting of Hiccup, and always eager to help him. When he was giving lessons, wild, un-bonded dragons would happily bound right up to him at a gesture. And axe was no exception. She seemed quite pleased with herself, trilling a bit and preening over the chance to help.

And so Hiccup found himself surrounded. Behind him was the black scaled bulk of Toothless, against whom he was still leaning against. To his left was Astrid's curious Deadly Nadder, who was keeping a respectful distance, but watching the proceedings with interest. To the right was the stream that fed into the grotto's pond. And before him, silhouetted by the fire behind her, was Astrid. With her hands on her hips and a victorious smirk on her face.

"Now, let's take a look at that leg."

Hiccup just groaned, not seeing any way out of it. It wasn't as if he could outrun Astrid, even if he still HAD two good legs. And Toothless seemed disinclined to whisk him away, the useless reptile.

"All right, fine. Just remember, it's not as bad as it looks." Trying not to cringe, Hiccup began rolling up the leg of his pants, revealing the wood and metal cup that cradled his stump, as well as the straps that held it in place. With shaking hands he began to reach for the straps, but Astrid stopped him.

"Here, I'll get it." She said with surprising gentleness. A gentleness matched by her actions as she carefully began removing his prosthetic. Despite her soft touch, he still found himself sucking in air through clenched teeth. Toothless purred unhappily beside him as the dragon watched, ears drooping.

With a gentle twist, Astrid pulled the false leg free. Hiccup's hands clenched into fists as he closed his eyes tightly, trying to ignore the pain. Astrid herself hissed in surprise as the prosthetic slide free, and at what she found beneath it.

Blood. Crusty, dried blood, but blood none the less. His stump was swathed in linen bandaged, keeping his wound clean and cushioning his stump. But in the flickering firelight she could see plenty of red spots on the white fabric. Once again, a fist seemed to grip her heart.

_'It's been weeks since the battle. A wound like this takes time to heal, but it should have stopped bleeding by now!'_ Cautiously, gently, and slightly fearfully, she began to unwrap the bandages, trying to ignore the way Toothless whimpered and moaned at every twitch and whimper Hiccup made.

"Hey, it's okay buddy. It's… It's fine…" His eyes still tightly closed, Hiccup none the less lifted his hands to where he knew his friend was, scratching the dragon's neck to comfort him.

When Astrid finally unwrapped the last turn of bandages, she let out a sigh of relief. There was bleeding, yes. But none of it was from his main injury. She could still see the stitches where the healer sewed together the flesh of his leg at the end of his rounded stump, but the wound was neat and clean and showed no signs of bleeding or infection. Even without fighting with dragons, life on Berk could be hard and dangerous. And while amputations were not quite commonplace, the village healers still had an unfortunately large amount of experience with the process. They had done good work on Hiccup, and in time he'd have little more than a few long scars on his stump.

No, his main wound, and the source of her fear, was healing nicely. But further up his leg was another matter. There were a few scars and burn marks closer to his knee, signs that the flames that had devoured his leg had gotten a slight foothold that far up the limb. But mostly his stump was covered in angry red skin and blisters. Burns caused not by dragon fire, but by friction and rubbing. The bright red lines where the straps of his prosthetic bit into the flesh were the worst areas, but were far from the only painfully inflamed spots. Both Toothless and Astrid hissed at the sight.

"Hiccup… How are you even walking on this?" She lifted her head to look into the read-headed boy's pain filled green eyes, which he had finally opened.

"It's.. Really not that bad." He insisted, slowly unclenching his teeth.

"Yes it is! There's no way these blisters will heal if you keep walking on them!" She nodded her head firmly. "For the next few days you're off your feet, mister!"

"No."

The word startled Astrid. Or rather, the tone of voice did. Suddenly Hiccup wasn't slumped against Toothless' side. He was sitting up tall and straight and staring right at her, his voice filled with strength and determination. For a moment, Astrid could do little more than stare at him. Just like that first night when they discovered the dragon's nest, that inner strength was showing through.

She shook her head a bit and frowned at him. This time was different however. This wasn't something as minor as hiding a Night Fury from the village or finding the dragon's nest. This was SERIOUS!

"Hiccup, you HAVE to stay off this leg!" she narrowed her eyes at him. "If you keep this up, these blisters could get infected! Hiccup, you could DIE!"

But Hiccup didn't so much as flinch at her words, nor did the look of determination leave his face.

"It doesn't matter. I can't spend days bedridden!" He started to reach for his prosthetic, but Astrid just pushed it out of his reach, growling at him in exasperation.

"For the love of Odin Hiccup, why not? What's so important that it can't wait for you to heal?"

"I've got too much stuff to do, and I can't let everyone see how weak I am. If they see me staggering around like I'm drunk, or worse, bedridden, they'll see how weak I am! They'll remember how weak I ALWAYS am! They'll lose respect for me and they'll STOP LISTENING!" Astrid's face softened at his words, looking at him sadly.

"Hiccup, no one is going to think less of you or stop listening to you just because you need some time to heal." She said soothingly. But his green eyes remained locked onto hers, filled with stubborn determination.  
"Yes they will!" He waved his arms in exasperation. "Don't you see Astrid? I haven't changed. I haven't changed at ALL." He dropped his arms to his side, but kept his gaze upon her. "I'm still the same scrawny, clumsy Hiccup I was before. Only back then, I was a failure and a disappointment. Now they're acting like I'm a hero. But nothing about me has CHANGED!" He shook his head vigorously.

"Eventually they'll realize I'm just as bad a Viking now as I was then. The truth will come out, just like with dragon training." He took a deep breath, that steely determination returning. "But for now, they're listening to me! I have to teach everyone as much about dragons as I can! While I can! For as long as I can!"

"Hiccup, you ARE a hero! The village isn't just going to lose respect for you overnight! You don't have to push yourself so hard!"

"Why wouldn't they?" He snorted. "They gained it for me overnight, didn't they?" Astrid cringed at his words, unable to deny them. "Anyway, I can't risk it. I've got to make sure dragons and Vikings get along as fast as I can."

"I don't understand. Why are you in such a rush? Things seem to be going pretty well so far…" Astrid knew SHE was getting along well with HER dragon. The rest of the trainees seemed to have formed strong attachments to their mounts as well. As for the rest of the Berk, most of the Vikings were still wary of the dragons. But they were slowly growing more relaxed. And more interested in them. Quite a few of the older Vikings were befriending dragons, with some tutelage from Hiccup of course. And several were already flying on their partner's backs. And all this in but a few weeks time. When Astrid took the time to think about it, it really was an amazing sea change in behavior.

But Hiccup clearly didn't feel the same way.

"Isn't it obvious? Vikings and dragons have been fighting for generations! They've only been tolerating each other for a few weeks! Things don't change that easily!" The green eyed boy gestured with his hands in agitation, trying to make her see what he saw.

"What if the Elders decide that things were better when we fought dragons instead of befriending them? What if someone does something to anger a Nightmare and gets a hand bit off because they didn't know better? Or a Nadder accidentally sets someone's house on fire? How long would it be before everyone is reaching for swords and axes? And what do you think the dragons would do THEN?" He stared into her eyes intently as he spoke, slowly calming down. "Do you want to have to decide between being with Axe, or being a real Viking?"

Astrid stared at him, mouth hanging open. She hadn't really considered things in that light. She was just too enthralled with Axe to even consider how things could go wrong between humans and dragons. All she had seen was how well things seemed to be going. She hadn't concerned herself with how quickly they could go the other way.

But Hiccup clearly had.

What would she do if she WAS forced to decide between being a dragon rider and being a Viking? Between carrying an axe, and being carried BY Axe? Between her family and her new friend? Between her past and her partner? It was a terrible choice to have to make. A fact that Hiccup knew well.

After all, he' had to make it himself.

"I have to do this Astrid. As fast as I can. I'm not good with big groups, but I can handle a few people at a time. They'll listen to me in small groups. For now. And the more of them that learn to appreciate dragons for something besides a good fight, the less likely it is that anyone will have to make a decision like that." The _'anyone ELSE'_ was silent in his words but clear on his face.

Astrid let out a loud sigh, looking down at his leg.

"Okay. You're right." Hiccup perked up a bit at her admission, but Astrid was far from finished.

"You're right about needing to get the rest of Berk to understand." She poked him in the chest with her finger. "But you're wrong thinking you have to do it alone!"

"But…" Astrid refused to let him get a word in edgewise.

"No buts. The rest of us know enough about dragons to at least help out teaching people. Even if we don't know quite as much as YOU do." Astrid snorted. NOBODY knew as much about working with dragons as Hiccup did. And seeing how strong the bond between him and Toothless was, she doubted anyone else ever would.

"Ah, I guess that would help a bit…" Hiccup smiled at the blonde girl as she returned her focus to his leg. "Thank you Astrid."

Astrid flushed a bit at his smile, keeping her head down and turning his leg this way and that gently, inspecting his injuries.

In truth she was rather embarrassed that she hadn't thought of helping Hiccup with dragon training earlier. None of the teenagers had. In their defense, they were all rather focused on learning about their own dragons, and enraptured by the thrill of flying through the skies. None of them would dream of calling themselves an expert on dragon training. There was no doubt that that title belonged to Hiccup, and Hiccup alone.

He was the Master, and the rest of them merely apprentices for the moment. At least that's how Astrid and the others saw it. It never occurred to her to wonder just how many 'apprentices' Hiccup could handle at once. And how little assistance they were offering him. It wasn't as if Hiccup ever COMPLAINED about it.

"I'm going to need some water to clean these blisters. Don't go anywhere." Hiccup gave her a lopsided smile and wiggled his stump in the air at her comment. "Eh, somehow I doubt I'd be able to get far." His prosthetic was still on the ground out of his reach. But at least there was some honest humor in his voice and smile this time. Astrid placed her hands on her hips and smirked at him in return.

"That wasn't a 'yes'." She shifted her gaze to Hiccup's partner. "Toothless, make sure he doesn't go anywhere."

Toothless nodded his head at Astrid, giving her a tight lipped smile and wrapped his tail around Hiccup's waist. The trapped Viking put on a mock pout and glared at his friend.

"Traitor." He mumbled.

Ignoring the rumbling draconic laughter behind her, Astrid picked up Hiccup's bandage and walked to the edge of the pond at the center of the grotto. She would much rather have used clean, new bandages to wrap Hiccup's leg, but she wasn't carrying enough of them herself. All she could do was clean the wrappings as best she could, and make sure he changed them for fresh ones when they returned home.

Astrid tried to ignore the feeling of Hiccup's eyes on her as she stretched most of the bandages out on a few sticks next to the fire, letting the heat dry them. She kept a few swathes of cloth damp however as she moved back towards Hiccup and Toothless. Without a word she sat herself back down in front of the other Viking and began to dab at his blisters with the wet cloth.

"You need to take better care of your injury Hiccup, or this is only going to get worse." She moved her hands as carefully and gently as she could, trying not to reopen any of the blisters. Despite her efforts, she could still feel Hiccup tense in pain regularly.

"Sorry. I just haven't had… Much time lately… And.. I don't like to do it… around.. Toothless..." He tried not to hiss in pain as Astrid worked. Her hands were rough and calloused from practicing with weapons, but they still felt wonderful against his intact skin. The problem was that far more of his skin was angry and irritated than intact. The cool water combined with Astrid's delicate touch went a long way towards soothing it.

"What does Toothless have to do with anything?"

"Oh.. He gets upset.. when he sees my stump. Even though I keep telling him… it's not his fault…" Toothless still had his tail around Hiccup, though now it was just resting across his lap. The dragon's head was turned to watch Astrid work, a look of immense sadness on his expressive face. Whenever Hiccup hissed or flinched, Toothless would make an unhappy little rumbling sound, as if he were the one feeling the pain.

The next few minutes passed in silence as Astrid worked. The only sounds were those of nature… Assuming you considered the low unhappy whining of a worried Night Fury part of nature. Not to mention the occasional hiss of pain from Hiccup. The silence stretched on, Hiccup too distracted by the pleasantness of her hands on his leg, alternating with the pain of his injuries… And Astrid simply unsure of what to say.

"You're wrong you know." Astrid spoke without looking up from his leg, finally breaking the silence.

"Huh?"

"You're wrong." She met his eyes this time, a serious expression on her face. "You're wrong about the village losing respect for you. You've shown us all that we were wrong. Wrong about lots of things. Wrong about dragons. Wrong about the Nest. Wrong about YOU."

"_I _was wrong about you." She lowered her eyes, the edges of her lips curling downwards in a frown as she focused on his leg. She was a Viking. Strong and proud and perhaps a touch arrogant. And plenty stubborn of course. It wasn't easy for her to admit to being wrong. But when Hiccup had flown off, his words had stirred up a great many memories. Not all of them pleasant. Hiccup had opened himself up to her. She could hardly do less in return, could she?

"Astrid I…" Hiccup began, trying to think of something to say. But Astrid continued on without looking up from his injuries, not letting him speak.

"I hated you." She said softly. She could feel his leg tense up in pain, and she was certain it was caused by her words and not her hands. But it was the truth. Or most of the truth, because in fact she had not merely hated him. She hat hated him with an incredible, burning passion that was difficult to describe.

"Not at first of course." She continued, her hands gently, carefully cleaning his blisters. "Not before dragon training. Back then I… I don't know. All I knew about you was that you were considered a walking disaster area and it was best to stay away from you." She sighed softly, wringing some more water out onto his leg.

"You never really made fun of me like everyone else did though…" Hiccup smiled lopsidedly at her, trying to cheer her up. But when she raised her head to meet his eyes for a moment, her face was still serious.

"That wasn't out of kindness Hiccup. I didn't join in because… Well, because I didn't see the point. I guess I didn't see any reason to waste attention on you, even to make fun of you. And in a way maybe that's worse than what the others did." At least the other teenagers had acknowledged his existence. To Astrid he was just.. unimportant. Irrelevant. Beneath her notice.

"When we started dragon training, I just thought you were annoying. You were always in the way. Always talking instead of acting. Always in the WRONG place at the WRONG time." Oh yes, she'd found Hiccup annoying. But even then she'd thought of him in the same way she'd think of a low hanging tree branch or a slippery rock. He was an obstacle. Something in the way. Something to be dealt with and overcome. Not really a person, just an inconvenient piece of furniture.

"But then when you suddenly started getting good at dragon training…" She trailed off into silence for a moment. "I like to win. And I work hard to win. But I'm not stupid. I know I can't always be the best at everything. If someone works hard to beat me, I'm… okay with that I guess. It just means I need to train harder myself." Sure she was competitive. Very much so. But being competitive meant being able to recognize and respect OTHER competitors.

"But you… You just came out of nowhere and started surpassing me. Knocking out dragons left and right, half the time with your bare hands. I couldn't make sense of it! You never seemed to practice. You never trained. You didn't work hard at it. You didn't even act like you wanted to be there!" She could feel her chest burn at the mere memory of just how ANGRY that had made her, her hands curling into fists.

But after a moment she deflated, shoulders slumping as she returned to tending to his leg, not looking up to meet his eyes.

"And that… was when I really started to hate you."

The truth of it was, she could have understood it better if almost anyone ELSE had beaten her. She could have accepted most any of other of the teens challenging her for first place.

Snotlout was a braggart and could be a jerk, but he still had some skills. He was, at best, half as good as he claimed to be. But his claims were pretty lofty indeed. He was a showoff, but he worked HARD to showoff.

Ruffnut and Toughnut were excellent fighters with years of experience. Mind you, they were experts at fighting EACH OTHER. But there was still a lot of effort and spirit put into it. If they ever focused on something besides each other, they'd be a force to be reckoned with.

Even Fishlegs worked hard at being a proper Viking, in his own strange way. All those memorized facts and rambling descriptions may have been annoying, but they were the product of hard work and studying. He may not have been very good, but he was TRYING.

And then came Hiccup. Hiccup who didn't seem to be taking anything about training seriously. Hiccup who was weak, clueless, and a bigger danger to his fellow students than the dragons. Hiccup who put in no real effort in ANY of their fights.

"I spent years working hard. Practicing and training. And then, overnight, you suddenly become better than me. Like all my hard work was pointless." Hiccup opened his mouth to speak, but Astrid just rolled on. She'd started to bare her feelings, and if she stopped now she wasn't sure she would be able to start again.

"And what made it worse was the way you ACTED. Like you didn't even want to BE there! You were always in a hurry to finish and run off after training. Always avoiding the rest of us. Always pretending to be uncomfortable when people praised you. Even though it was obvious that's what you wanted. What you'd ALWAYS wanted!" Despite the passion in her voice she still maintained a deft touch with the bandages in her hands. Not that Hiccup would have registered any pain from her touch, so focused was he on her words.

"Astrid, I never meant to…" Hiccup began to speak desperately, but the blonde Viking wasn't giving him a chance to interrupt.

"But what really pushed me over the edge wasn't the way you kept avoiding the rest of us. Like you were suddenly too good to hang around with us. Or the fact that I'd see you wandering around the forest doing who-knew what while I sweated and strained and practiced." She shook her head, slowly beginning to wind the now-dried bandages around his leg. "No, the worst part were those mocking, apologetic smiles you kept giving me every time you beat me. As if you were SORRY you'd beaten me. As if I needed PITY."

Hiccup was practically frantic at her words, waving his arms and sputtering.

"Astrid! I didn't know that… I would never…! I just wanted to…" He gestured wildly, practically panicking as he desperately sought to express just how far from his intent that was.

Astrid just looked up at him and gave him another gentle smile, patting his knee with her hand to calm him.

"I know." She said softly. "I know that's not what you meant. That you were being honest back then." She sighed. "I know that NOW. But back then I was too angry to see it. Which was why I followed you after you won the tournament."

She cringed a bit at her memories of that evening. Of the earlier part at least. The part she hadn't given much thought, until Hiccup brought it up just a few hours ago. The part where she'd menaced him with her axe. Threatened him. HURT him. Twisted his wrist, knocked him to the ground, dropped her axe on him… She had just been so ANGRY. Angry and confused. And the confusion had just fed her anger.

And then Toothless had shown up.

"When Toothless came charging at us and you knocked me down and threw away my axe, I was certain we were both going to die." She gave Toothless a smile as well as he listened intently to her words along with Hiccup. "But I was wrong."

"When you got him to stop… Just by TALKING to him… And introduced him like he was an old friend… I didn't know what to think. So I ran. And when Toothless snatched me off the ground, I was certain I was about to die. Again." She gave the pair a lopsided smile. "And I was wrong. Again."

"At first I didn't want to listen to you. I thought you were crazy." She eyed him, seeming to consider him for a moment. "I don't think I was TOTALLY wrong on that one." That at least earned a smile in return. "Anyway, I didn't have much choice so I got on Toothless' back. And again I was certain I was going to die." Hiccup had the good grace to look abashed at those memories. Toothless just gave Astrid a smug grin.

"But even when we were spinning through the air and my life was flashing before my eyes, I remember how surprised, no, SHOCKED I was by how calm you were. How fearless. How BRAVE. I was wrong about dying. Again. And I started to realize that maybe I was wrong about YOU." She finished wrapping his leg, and carefully tucking the end of the bandage in.

"It wasn't until later, after we'd landed, that I started thinking back on things. And I realized I'd been wrong about LOTS of things. You really DIDN'T want to be in dragon training. You really DIDN'T want to hurt the dragons. You really WERE embarrassed by the attention ad praise. And you WEREN'T mocking me with those apologetic smiles. You really meant them." She smiled up at him again as she picked up his prosthetic leg, preparing to reattach it. Hiccup barely noticed, flushing in embarrassment.

"You were wrong about me being brave and fearless too you know." He corrected her. "I was wasn't worried because I knew Toothless wouldn't really hurt me, that's all. There was never anything to be scared of." His black scaly friend nodded his head in agreement before nudging the Viking's side affectionately.

"That's not the point." She smirked at the pair as Hiccup scratched the Night Fury's neck. "The point is that you opened my eyes with that flight. It made me really see you for the first time. Not just all the things you weren't, but the things you WERE." She looked away from his face to hide her blush, focusing on carefully sliding the socket of his artificial leg over his newly bandaged stump.

"Well, I.. Uh…" Hiccup stuttered a bit, suddenly embarrassed. But Astrid stillw wasn't allowing him to say much.

"You opened MY eyes that night. And you started to do the same to the rest of the village when you were in the arena with Snoutlout's Nightmare. And you DEFINITELY opened their eyes when you took on the Red Death in the skies over the Nest." Hiccup barely noticed the pain as she carefully cinched the straps on his leg tight. He was too focused on her face as she looked up at him, honesty and moonlight shining on her expression.

"People aren't going to just forget what they saw there Hiccup. We might not listen to you all the time. We're Vikings. We're stubborn. But we're not going to forget." She patted his prosthetic one last time as she stared into his intense green eyes. He was staring right back at her intensely, his brilliant green orbs filled with surprise and wonder as he gazed upon her. After a few more seconds she pulled herself away from his eyes, flushing brightly and standing up quickly.

She'd said too much. She'd gotten lost in the moment and, well… talking wasn't Astrid's strength. She was more of a 'hit things until the problem goes away' sort of girl. And she was suddenly feeling uncomfortable being so open with her feelings. Especially with Hiccup just sitting there quietly, staring at her.

"Thank you Astrid." Hiccup smiled at her again, a real, heartfelt smile. And regardless of how dark the night was, the grotto seemed to light up in response to his smile, at least for Astrid. Her embarrassment seemed to melt away, and she smiled right back.

Until he opened his mouth again.

"You're wrong you know." He smiled as he said it, but Astrid's eyes narrowed.

"Hiiiccuuuppp.." She began, hands on her hips. He held up his hand to forestall her.

"You're wrong. You said you can't be the best at everything." He wiggled his injured limb a bit, checking to see how it felt and how it moved. "But you've ALWAYS been the best at anything you've done. To me, you'll always be the best." He said so softly it was almost a whisper. Astrid looked away from him for a moment to hide her blush.

While her head was turned, Hiccup bit back a groan and forced himself to his feet, with a little help from a concerned Toothless. Gingerly testing his balance, he was pleased to discover that his leg felt a great deal better. It still hurt, no doubt. But after a bit of rest and Astrid's tender care, it hurt less than it had in days.

"How does it feel now?" Astrid asked, glancing at his artificial leg with thinly disguised concern.

"Better. A LOT better." He smiled at her reassuringly. "You do amazing work." It was obvious he was talking about more than just his physical injuries.

"It's nothing." Astrid had to fight down another blush. She was doing that far too often as of late. FAR too often! "Do you think you'll be okay getting back to the village?"

"Sure, no problem." He nodded confidently. "I'll just help Toothless fly up out of the grotto. After that he can just walk us back to town. I won't even have to use my leg in the harness that way." He patted his partner's neck as the dragon nodded in agreement with him.

"Good. And then you can take tomorrow off and spend the whole day resting and healing."

"But I can't just…" He began, a stubborn look appearing on his face. He cut himself off rapidly however when she saw the no-nonsense look Astrid was shooting at him. Sure, he could be stubborn, but Astrid could manage stubborn AND scary at the same time. It was no contest.

"You'll spend the WHOLE day in bed. The rest of us will fill in for you, getting the rest of Berk comfortable with dragons. YOU are going to REST! And change that bandage first thing in the morning!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes at her orders, muttering "Yes dear." Under his breath.

But apparently it wasn't muttered quit lowly enough, because the next thing he knew Astrid was socking him in the shoulder. Hard.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asked reflexively, rubbing his arm.

"THAT was for thinking you had to run away from everyone. From ME." She nodded firmly. Hiccup opened his mouth to reply, but discovered that Astrid had a better use for his lips.

This wasn't a chaste peck on the cheek like their previous kisses. This time Astrid pressed her lips to his, a bit tentatively at first, but then with more vigor as he began to respond.

After a few seconds, the pair of them broke apart, both flushed and red faced.

"And THAT… Was so that you'll remember that you'll always have something here to come back to." She smiled at him for a moment before turning around and hurrying towards the shadowy lump that was her dragon. She wasn't running. That would be undignified!

"I'll see you back home in the morning Hiccup!" she called over her shoulder as she very hastily mounted Axe and made her escape, her face still red.

Hiccup failed to respond, still standing stock still, only moving to lift one hand up to his lips. He remained in that state long after Astrid and Axe had taken flight, vanishing almost instantly into the night sky. Finally it was Toothless' rumbling laugh and nudging that snapped him out of his stupor.

"Y.. Yeah, you're right buddy. We should get home. Are you okay with a long walk?" He asked, still brushing his fingers along his lips

Toothless just nudged him happily and motioned with his head that his partner should hurry up and get on.

"All right, I'll right! I'm going!" Hiccup laughed and smiled, carefully sliding onto his friend's back, locking his prosthetic into place with a familiar click.

* * *

Toothless took one last look around the grotto, and smiled to himself. All in all, it had turned out to be a good night. It would be a slow and boring walk back to Berk. No high flying, aerial aerobatics, or screaming dives tonight. But looking back at his partner, Toothless didn't mind at all. He didn't need to speed through the air tonight.

No, tonight he was certain that the pain Hiccup had been feeling wouldn't be able to keep up with him, even at a leisurely walk.

"Come on buddy. Let's go home." Hiccup patted his neck, and with a pleased roar Toothless unfurled his wings and leapt into the night sky, leaving the grotto and the pain far behind.

* * *

**Annnnddd that's the end of that! I'm still not thrilled with the ending, but it didn't seem to be improving with time. And I'm not sure if it flowed all that well. Perhaps I should have had Astrid tend to Hiccup's leg and give her confession at a later time and place in a different scene. I was having trouble thinking up an appropriate setup though, so smooshed both events together, and now I'm not quite sure if they work that well.**

**But it hardly matters now because this fic is DONE! Huzzah!**

**I do have notions for one more full story floating around my head. But alas, my muse seems ready to return to hibernation, so I doubt it will see the light of day. But I managed to complete this one, and that's something!**


End file.
